Shooting the Moon
by 05
Summary: An era of peace has been shattered. In the approaching darkness some will stand united, fighting for their way of life. The students of Beacon are thrown into a civil war, caught between terrorists and a corrupt government capable of anything. Will they fall one by one, separated by hatred and pain? Bloodshed awaits as the blood moon rises, consuming everything they hold most dear.
1. Prologue

I see the light. Its warm welcoming rays dancing in front of my eyes. There are whispers all around me encouraging me on, faster and faster. The light looks so welcoming, so soft, so friendly. It warms every fiber of my being, much like an oven baking a batch of cookies.

Wouldn't it be easy to slip into its embrace? Wouldn't it be so much better then the pain I had suffered through?

I close my eyes, waiting for the light to sweep me away to a better place. My memories flash by, making me remember how quickly joy had been shattered by pain.

We had all been so happy last night. We had just finished our last exams of our first semester. The party we threw was great; we had even managed to convince Weiss to join in. The ruckus of the pillow fight had sent feathers flying everywhere. My blonde sister had smugly revealed the fact that I was ticklish, causing me to get tackled by my fellow teammates. Much to my dismay they had exploited my weakness to its fullest. I had shrieked with laughter as they tickled me into submission. My sister had tears streaming down her face as she held her sides from laughter. Their laughing faces surrounded me afterwards as we all lay in a heap on the floor. That had been the last time I had seen them. I wanted to hope they survived but the chances were slim.

Then the man who had caused it all came to mind. I would never forget his gleeful cackles as he sent fireballs into everything around him. His victims' screams of pain echoed through my mind, filling me with hatred. Why? Why had he done this? Even more mysterious to me was his identity, who was this man? I remembered his face, his thin drawn cheeks, high cheekbones, his icy eyes lusting for murder. He would pay. He had to. But who was left to go after him? Beacon was in ruins, its teams shattered and its professors killed or missing.

My mind drifted to my sister who had shaken me awake just before the attack. Blood was oozing from gashes on her face, her cloths were scorched, her skin bruised and battered. Her desperate voice revealed that Grimm were storming the academy, pleading that we had to run. I saw myself jumping up, protesting that we needed to help others get out safely. I remember seeing the fear and desperation play across her face as I grabbed my weapon and ran out into the hall.

"Sis!" I hear her cry from behind me.

I turned just in time to see the room crumble downwards taking my sister with it. Her face was frozen in shock, eyes locked on mine as she fell away.

My head throbbed as I remembered the crushing pain and blackness that followed as the hall collapsed, crushing me in rubble.

Why had I not listened to her? I had lost her, and she had only been trying to help me. She had been trying to keep me safe, but because of my stubbornness she was probably dead. How could I let this happen? How could I have been so selfish not to realize the consequences of my actions?

I panicked, thrashing my limbs screaming out to whoever may be listening, desperation in my voice.

"YANG!..."

No. No! No! This can't be happening. I will not give up. I must hold on to her, I must. She is all I have. I have to be there for her. What if she had survived and was trapped in the rubble? I have to live, if for nothing else but for her.

I flail wildly resisting the pull of the light, begging it for a second chance.

The light flickers and flutters, the whispers fade away, saying that it was not yet my time. I sob with joy as my plea is granted. The light fades to black, sending me back to a world full of demons, fire, and pain.

* * *

(A/N) Updates every Thursday and Monday. This story is going to longer then average and as a result moves slower.

Kudos to Madcinder for Beta reading.

Note that the rest of the story is written in third person and the chapter lengths are four to five times longer.


	2. Chapter 1, The Beginning

The Beginning

Ruby sucked air into her lungs, gasping and wheezing on the smoke filled air. She checked to see if everything still worked, wiggling her toes and fingers. When she was satisfied they worked she opened her eyes.

The hallway between her team's room and JNPR's was above her, the ceiling ablaze. The floor she had been standing on had collapsed down onto the floor beneath, leaving her in a pile of beams and bricks. Glowing embers from fire floated down coating the floor in a layer of ash.

Ruby groaned, starting to feel her body again and instantly feeling the weight of a large wooden beam on her right arm. She grunted, rolling to face it. It refused to move as she frantically pushed it. With the pain intensifying, she put all her strength into lifting, pushing it up just enough to get her arm out.

Agony raced up and down her arm as blood poured from gashes left from the rough underside. Sitting up, cradling her wounded arm, she realized how lucky she was to not get crushed by the pile of rubble around her. Looking up again she caught sight of the scorched doorframe that had once led to her team's dorm.

"Yang…" She whispered, remembering.

After struggling to her feet a thought raced through her mind, causing her to spin around in panic. Her fears were put to rest, seeing her scythe lying in the rubble. Holding it under her left arm, she limped away from the pile of rubble determined to find her sister.

As she limped through the devastated halls of the once majestic academy she saw the dismembered bodies of Grimm scattered everywhere.

"At least someone put up a fight." She thought, commenting on the corpses.

Pyrrha's golden shield was discarded next to a pile of eviscerated Beowolves, the puddle of blood seeping between the cracks in the floor. Ruby blocked the pain out of her mind, desperately hoping to find her sister unharmed. The walls were pocked with craters, the pungent smell of sulfur drifting through the air. Light from fires gleamed off blood on the walls.

Tears ran down Ruby's face as she desperately searched for her sister among the rubble.

"Yang! YANG!" She called out, getting more and more panicked.

"I need you Yang. Where are you?!" She desperately tried to hold herself together, failing miserably as tears streamed down her face.

She spotted something, the limp form of a battered Nora propped up against a wall, blood smeared behind her where she had been blasted into it. Her hammer was stuck in the guts of a Beowolf, blood splattered against everything. Her face was smeared with blood, her cloths stained red. Ruby ran over, dropping to her knees next to her friend, weapon clattering to the ground. Gently cradling Nora's head, she felt for a pulse. Slow, but steady.

Gasping a sigh of relief, she gently shook the redhead. "Nora wake up, it's Ruby."

Nora's turquoise eyes fluttered open, locking onto Ruby's face. Her eyes widened with surprise and relief when she saw that Ruby was still alive.

Straining to get the words out, Nora choked out her relief,

"It's good to see you, Ruby."

She looked around, none of her usual enthusiasm present. Her eyes hovered on her hammer, lodged in her last victim. Suddenly gasping with pain, she clutched her sides.

"I hurt, Ruby." She croaked out over the immense pain in her abdomen.

"You're going to be alright Nora, I'm here now." Ruby murmured in a reassuring tone, stroking her face gently.

"You don't look so good yourself." She replied, gesturing at Ruby's wounded arm.

"Its not as bad as it looks." She suspected otherwise but didn't want to worry her friend. Knowing that she had to keep looking for her sister she asked, "Can you walk?"

"I hope so." Nora said trying to push herself up, taking Ruby's hand and leaning on her shoulder.

They stumbled forward, making little progress before Nora caught sight of another body farther down the hallway. Surprising Ruby, she let go of her shoulder and sprinted to the facedown figure. Ruby limped over to Nora, who was kneeling next to Ren and shaking him desperately.

"Ren! Ren! REN!" Tears dropped down onto his back. Nora frantically tried to turn him over but doubled over as she started to cough uncontrollably. Shock and fear rampaged through her as she coughed up blood. Red splattered the floor, seeping into cracks between bricks. Unable to breathe, she collapsed next to Ren. Ruby rushed to her side, weapon once again clattering to the floor. She felt Nora's neck for a pulse. Weak and fading. Ruby quickly rolled Nora onto her side, relieved that the redhead was breathing. She glanced over at Ren and was shocked to see his back rising and falling.

Rolling him over, he seemed to be in decent condition. The only serious wound being deep claw marks from a Beowolf across his chest, ending just before his neck. His face was in far worse shape. There was a large amount of blood coating his face that still oozed from his badly shattered nose. His face twitched as he slowly regained consciousness. His magenta eyes were blurry as he looked around wildly, expecting there to be Grimm. Sitting up quickly, he grabbed the front of Ruby's shirt, ready to fight.

"Ren! It's me, Ruby!"

His eyes focused on her, causing him to sigh with relief that she was still alive. Letting his arms drop, his fingers grazed the puddle of blood Nora had coughed up. Raising his arm up to see what he touched, he saw her.

Quickly kneeling over her, he placed his hands over her, eyes closed. Ruby watched in astonishment as his hands started to glow, aura pulsing out rhythmically. Sweat dripped from his brow as his hands started to shake from the effort. Ruby's awestruck eyes reflected the miracle, amazed at what she was witnessing.

Ren's face went slack as his job was done, his aura depleted. Breathing heavily, he stroked her face, gently speaking into her ear,

"I'm here Nora."

The edges of her mouth twitched into a smile. Without even opening her eyes she could feel Ren's presence causing happiness to flood through her. Opening her eyes, she embraced him. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks.

Ruby stood up, wincing at the pain in her arm. She retrieved her weapon, ready to continue searching for Yang. Ren and Nora, now standing, looked to Ruby for what to do next.

"Ruby?" Ren questioned softly.

"We need to find our teammates." She responded, only able to think about her sister.

The sound of footsteps echoed off the ruined walls. The three survivors weaving their way in between corpses of both Grimm and human alike, trying to ignore what lay before them.

"They came out of nowhere didn't they?" Nora observed, gingerly stepping over puddles of blood. "It was like BAM—" she gestured wildly with her arms, "and there they were."

"Few reacted to the attack quick enough to do any good." Ren added in a low tone, "They were caught unaware and slaughtered as they tried to run."

Nora looked at the mangled corpses of her fellow students, crestfallen at his words. Looking down, she muttered under her breath, her hands tightening angrily around her weapon.

Rarely, if ever, had Nora ever been angry in Ren's memory, so this got his attention. If nothing else, he thought, he should be angry at them for doing this to Nora, but he was finding it hard to feel anything at all. He only felt empty from all the death around him.

Looking ahead, he caught sight of Ruby. He could see the growing panic within her and could only imagine what she had to be going through.

They had been wandering through the demolished halls for what had seemed like an eternity and Ruby's hope of finding her sister was fading. Doubt had begun to eat away at her as to whether or not they would actually find her. Finding their way through the twisted maze of corridors had not been easy, as most of the passages were filled with rubble from floors that had collapsed from above.

Ruby glanced back at her two companions, seeing them hand in hand. A spark of hope ignited in her numb mind, spurring her on with a renewed vigor. She turned a corner and stopped dead in her tracks.

Ahead of her lay the rubble of her team's room, partially burned books littered the floor, bed frames splintered into nothingness, fire leaping happily off the mattresses. Remnants of the stone floor covered the scene, fragments of the beams that once held up the room smoking slightly.

Ruby rushed forward, leaving a cloud of rose pedals behind her. She frantically began to throw rubble off the pile,

"Yang!" She called out, desperately wanting to hear a response. The last shred of her self control disintegrated as she broke down weeping. Collapsing into a pile on the floor, she locked up, anguish overcoming her.

Nora caught up to Ruby and went to her aid. She knelt next to her, trying to quell her sobbing. For the first time in her life she didn't know what to say. Instead, she took Ruby into her arms, holding her tight against her chest. Tears dripped down her face.

She looked up at Ren. He threw junk off the pile, determination showing clearly on his face. Sorting through piles of books, he picked his way through the jumble of ruined belongings. Body going into autopilot, he remembered just how lucky he and Nora had been.

* * *

Ren snapped awake, sensing that something was wrong. He inhaled, the faint smell of smoke greeting his nostrils. Sighing softly, he extracted himself from Nora's embrace. She had fallen asleep while they were listening to Blake tell a story. Ren's mouth hinted a smile at the memory of Nora's squeals of excitement when she had finally convinced Blake to tell a story. The story had been entertaining, but Nora hadn't been able to keep her eyes open through the slow parts.

The party seemed like it had just ended, they had all passed out on the floor of both team's rooms after dancing, pillow fighting, and doing who knows what for what had seemed like hours. He held his back tenderly, remembering that he had attempted to dance with Nora. He laughed softly at the memory of how he had failed to keep up with her wildly flailing limbs.

Looking around the room, he noticed that Blake was gone from where she had fallen asleep. He sighed, knowing it was probably nothing.

He slipped on his shoes and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Getting up, he examined the room more closely, sighing at the thought of how long it was going to take to clean up all the feathers. Walking out of the room, he grabbed StormFlower just in case.

Not even getting past the next door, he heard Nora bouncing up behind him, her normal energetic self.

"What's up Ren?" She asked brightly.

Did she have unlimited energy? How did she… He thought it better not to ask. Tiredly, he turned to her.

"I want to check something out." He replied, knowing he wouldn't be able to dissuade her from coming with him.

She grinned broadly, "A quest! I like it! Wait just a moment, I'll need Magnhild for this to be a proper quest!" She bolted back into the room, returning with her formidable Grimm smasher and grinning like a madwoman given napalm.

Ren didn't even blink at her antics. He just turned and continued walking. Nora, meanwhile, bounced and skipped around behind him, coming up with a grand adventure that was awaiting them around the next corner. Trying to block out her fantasy, he concentrated on trying to follow the smell. Some time later Nora stopped and sniffed the air,

"Ren, is that smoke?" She asked, looking at him quizzically.

A quick hand motion silenced her. Ren thought he heard something, eyes closed trying to listen. Nora crept up to Ren, sliding beside him,

"It's our quest!" She whispered loudly into Ren's ear, making him jump.

Before he could reply, their attention snapped towards a sound from outside. A Beowolf howling. Then another howl, and another. Rapidly, there were howls coming from everywhere.

Ren's mind worked at a frenzied pace, trying to comprehend what it meant.

Similar thoughts were racing through Nora's mind, but were halted by Ren's words.

"Beacon is about to be attacked. Go get the others, we're going to need—"

The wall they were standing next to exploded inwards, knocking them to the floor.

"I think our quest found us!" Nora coughed, brushing herself off.

"Ren?" Looking around for her friend, she saw him getting up slowly. He brushed himself off, uninjured.

"I'll never understand how your mind works, Nora." He said before being interrupted by more howling, louder this time.

More explosions echoed down the hall, jolting them back to the matter at hand. They turned to sprint back the way they came, only to get blocked by Grimm. They swarmed out of holes in the walls, red eyes glowing at the two figures in front of them, anticipating easy kills.

"By golly! The quest is upon us!" She exclaimed, realizing that this was way better then what she had come up with.

"Well…" Glancing at Ren slyly, "It's hammer time!" Her hammer unfolded majestically, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Nora…"

"Yes Ren?"

"Please don't say that again."

The hoard of wolves charged, but their movement was restricted by the confines of the hall. They leaped into action, Nora smashing anything to oblivion that dared to get too close. Bullets flew as Ren unleashed his pistols. Dealing with wolf after wolf, Nora cackled and giggled at the results of her wide swings, beheading multiple adversaries with single hits.

A glint from behind the dwindling hoard caught Ren's eye. Pyrrha, clad in her gleaming armor, was fighting her way towards them. Next to her was Jaune, hacking at wolves mercilessly.

Ducking and slicing with his bladed pistols, he dispatched enemies with ease. Glancing over at Nora, he smiled. Beacon had taught them a lot in just one semester. She grinned back, saluting him in jest. Snorting, he returned to slashing the diminishing hoard.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the school, knocking them to the ground. Dust filled the air as the ceiling threatened to collapse. Darkness filled the hall as the lights flickered out. The only light left came from moonlight filtering though holes in the walls.

"You guys okay?" Jaune asked.

"A-OK!" Nora replied, rocking back and forth on her feet, grinning at their handiwork littering the floor.

Another explosion rocked the building, closer then the last.

"We need to get out of here." Ren urged forcefully.

"First we go get the others. We're going to need help fending this off." Jaune responded.

They nodded in agreement and were turning to leave when another explosion went off directly above them, sending them all crashing to the floor.

* * *

(A/N) Many thanks to MadCinder for Beta reading.

Constructive criticism would be enormously helpful.

Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 2

Ren opened his eyes with his ears ringing from the explosion. He saw the rest of his team recovering from the near miss. Unsteadily getting to his feet he looked around. The entire wall had been blown away, revealing the courtyard below. Black forms ran everywhere, storming into the school. Fires licked the heels of the Grimm. An airjet hovered above the pack, swooping low and trying to drive them forward. Crystals dropped from an open hatch, causing fireballs to blossom below.

He was dumbfounded when he realized somebody was intentionally driving the pack towards the school, wanting it to be attacked. He continued observing the sight, mouth hung open,

"Ren, we need to go!" Jaune insisted coming up next to him grabbing his shoulder. Seeing his friend gaping, he followed his gaze. His mouth dropped open at the scene unfolding before them.

The airjet drifted closer to their vantage point. It drifted in front of them, hovering for a moment before a figure in the hatch tossed something at them.

Ren pulled his teammate to the ground, covering his head with his arms. The shock wave from the explosion sent them flying like a rag dolls. He hit a wall hard, blurring his vision. Unable to move, he watched the jet edge its way closer. Ren desperately tried to ignore the pain as he raised himself up.

His body did not respond. Instead, he was shocked to hear footsteps coming up to him, stopping just short. Hoping it to be Jaune, he was startled to hear a deep coarse voice instead.

"Pah! They're all so weak." Words dripping with contempt. He kicked Ren viciously in the gut, evoking a retch of pain. "Look! He's not even able to move!" He snorted in disgust, turning to look over at Nora's unconscious form, sprawled several feet away.

Turning away from Ren and Nora, he spoke again,

"Isn't this that Nikos person that won those tournaments awhile back?"

Ren panicked, trying to force his body to budge. Not getting anywhere, he focused and managed to lift his head up off the floor. Peeking over at the source of the voice he saw the man examining Pyrrha's face closely, holding her high above the floor with one arm. His face was inches from hers as he pondered her identity. His high cheekbones and gaunt cheeks were clearly visible in the moonlight.

He let her fall to the floor without regard for her well being. Her head connected with the floor and making a sickening crack. He motioned to his minion over his shoulder,

"Grab her and the one closest to her. We can use him as leverage if she proves to be a hard nut to crack."

Standing up, he walked over to the hole in the wall where the jet was waiting. He turned around, icy eyes gazing at Ren coldly. He chuckled as he watched Ren crawling towards his weapons. He threw his head back and exploded into cold heartless laughter.

The man descended on Ren, towering above him and sneering at him.

"Better luck next time kiddo." He sneered as his boot crushed Ren's face, destroying his nose.

Nearly passing out from the pain, his eyes cracked open just in time to see the man board the jet, tossing Pyrrha's listless body in along with Jaune's.

Nora stirred beside him, groaning as she sat up. She caught sight of Ren lying on his side clutching his face. Gasping at the blood leaking between his fingers, she tried to pry his hands away.

A croak tried to escape him before he was silenced with one finger across his lips.

"Take it easy. You look like you got run over by a train." She told him, worried for his welfare. She finally pried his hands away, revealing his destroyed nose.

Blood ran down his face as he tried to speak,

"Jaune and Pyrrha—" He choked on blood running down his throat.

Nora's eyes widened. She glanced around, noticing the absence of her teammates. Her gaze returned back to Ren, eyes filled with fear. She embraced Ren fearfully, not wanting to loose him too.

"Help me up, Nora. We need to go find the others."

Lifting him up, he leaned heavily on her shoulder. He put his arm around her for support. Ice filled his veins when he heard a low growl behind him. The pair spun around to see another hoard of Beowolfs closing on them. Turing the opposite direction, they froze in terror, realizing they were cornered between two closing packs.

Cold sweat dripped down his back when he realized he was unarmed.

"Nora…" Whispering to her softy, fear in his voice.

Magenta eyes locked onto blue. They understood what had to be done. She nodded slowly, a tear dropping onto her cheek. Lightly wiping it away with his thumb, he nodded. Pain and anguish on her face, she let go of Ren, sprinting towards her hammer. Ren collapsed onto all fours, barely able to hold himself up.

He blinked back tears, sadness filling him. He regretted not ever telling Nora that he cared. Despite her dynamic personality, he knew that she was the one. She was always there, ever since they were kids. He knew that without her, his life would be empty. He decided right then and there to make sure she lived through this. No matter what the cost.

Using his remaining energy he stood, hands raised, ready to fight.

Behind him, Nora dove under a ferocious clawed swipe meant to decapitate her. Springing to her feet behind the wolf, she grabbed her hammer off the floor and angrily brought it down on its head, blood showering her. Glancing up she saw Ren barely standing, with blood dripping off his chin, desperately dodging a wolf's swipes.

Her face curled into a snarl as she cocked her hammer back, aiming for the wolf nearest Ren. Putting all her muscle into it, she swung the weapon forward, sending it spinning at the Beowolf. Magnhild didn't even make it past her shoulder. A Beowolf behind her had caught it in its chest, causing her hands to slip along the handle crushing the trigger. The resulting explosion blasted her into a wall. She left bright red streaks of blood behind her as she slid to the floor.

Ren heard the explosion and glanced back in horror as he saw Nora's limp body propped against the wall, blood seeping out of the corners of her mouth.

He glanced back at his opponent just in time to see a streak of black slice up his body, barely missing his neck. Collapsing onto his knees he felt blood soak his cloths.

"I'm sorry…"

Falling onto his face, he was engulfed by darkness.

* * *

Snapping back to reality he shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his vision. His nose throbbed painfully at the motion, reminding him of its severity. He looked down at what progress he had made, only to find the pile's size was still unchanged.

Disappointed, he gingerly checked to make sure he hadn't reopened the gashes on his chest. Wincing at the pain, he pulled his shirt away from his body. Fresh blood oozed out of the swollen claw marks. Gritting his teeth, he glanced over at Nora, hoping she hadn't seen the seriousness of his wound. He saw her holding Ruby gently, a vacant look on her face as she stared at a burning mattress.

"You okay?" He asked quietly. Her eyes flicked over to him before resting on Ruby.

"Not well. She's in shock and not responding to anything I do. The only thing that can help now is to find Yang. " The redhead responded, her voice flat. She gently rocked Ruby back and forth, trying to comfort her.

"I meant you Nora."

She looked up at Ren for a moment before quickly averting her gaze. Her eyes getting watery as she responded.

"We nearly died Ren. I was on the brink before you brought me back. I don't even want to think what it cost you to do that. You can't deny it cost you dearly." She paused, struggling to keep herself together.

"Then there's Pyrrha and Jaune. We don't even know if they're alive. All we know is that the guys who drove the Beowolves here kidnapped them. And!" Tears flowing freely now, she stabbed the air with a finger angrily. "Yang is in that pile of rubble! And we both know her chances of survival are slim at this point." Gesturing towards the catatonic Ruby, she continued, forcing back overwhelming feelings of loss.

"Ruby won't survive through the pain if she looses her sister. She is barely hanging on right now!" Breaking down completely she began to weep. "All I knew and loved here is destroyed. I'm broken Ren. I've never felt like this before and it scares me. It scares me to be alone like this."

Her face streamed with tears as she clutched Ruby tightly.

"And now." She hiccuped painfully, looking down at Ruby's listless body. "With what you've gone and done I've lost you too." She clenched her eyes shut and tried to fight back her emotions, breathing heavily.

A moment later, she felt his hands take her face gently. She opened her eyes and saw Ren's mangled face mere inches from her own. Her chin wobbled dangerously as he spoke softly.

"I'm here Nora. You don't have to face this world alone. Together we can find Jaune and Pyrrha. Together we are strong." He was speaking truthfully and Nora knew it. She opened her mouth, only to be silenced by Ren's finger across her lips.

"I need you Nora. W-when I saw—" He stuttered, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"When I saw you against that wall I thought I had lost you. I was ready to die for you in that hallway, and still am." Tears fell out of her eyes faster then he could wipe them away. He smiled tenderly at her. Causing her to weakly smile back.

"I'm stronger then you think. I'm already recovering from saving you, so don't count me out just yet."

"Ren…" She pulled him towards her by his collar, lips almost touching.

"I love you too." She closed the distance, softly kissing him.

Surprise ran through him at her touch, but he soon gave away to her tenderness. His stomach fluttered wildly, only matched by the racing of her heart. Breaking away, they locked eyes, sharing a moment of peace despite the agony all around them.

"Ren! Nora!"

They jolted at the sudden voice that had hailed them from down the hallway. Staring in total shock, they couldn't believe who stood before them.

"Blake?"

* * *

(A/N) Thanks for reading. If you spotted any errors of any sort while reading this please do point them out. Questions and concerns are welcome! It is still early on, but there are some big things coming up. First they'll have to figure out what happened to whom... One piece at a time.

Hopefully you will find it entertaining.

Yes this chapter is shorter then the previous one, or any of the upcoming ones, but it was a good place to stop.

Never would have gotten this far without MadCinder, thank you.


	4. Chapter 3

Nora was struck speechless at the sight. Before them stood Blake, barely recognizable because she looked like she had been put through a blender.

She had burns across her body and the skin was peeling off in blackened shreds. Her left arm hung limply by her side, dislocated. She held her right hand to her chest, the bloody remnants of the two smallest fingers staining her vest dark red.

Most noticeable was a wide gash that ran down the right side of her face, starting above her ear and ending on the left side of her mouth. Her amber eyes were wide open, the slit like pupils dilated, blocking out the amber irises except for a thin edge around the outside. Her bow sat defiantly atop her head among her singed raven hair.

She stood there gazing at them for a moment, her smile fading.

"Do I have something on my face?" They stared at her in horror.

"It's me, Blake." She was very confused at their silence at this point.

"What in the name of creation happened to you!" Ren asked, his voice weak.

She looked down at herself, wincing slightly at the blistered skin.

"It's not as bad as it looks. Just some flesh wounds." She limped towards them, barely putting weight on her right leg. She dragged Gambol Shroud behind her, its ribbon wrapped tightly around her dislocated arm.

"You two look alright, all things considered." She sat down on a pile of bricks, groaning softly.

"I would normally say the same, but—" Ren started, only to get interrupted by Nora.

"You look like you've been through an exploding wood chipper! And survived!" Nora finished, astonishment in her voice. Blake took no notice, seemingly having lost interest in the conversation.

Taking advantage of Blake's lack of attention Ren drew one finger across his throat, silently mouthing towards Nora.

"She's in shock."

Nora nodded, looking concerned.

Blake's eyes wandered around the rubble absentmindedly. She noticed a large pile of scorched books lying off to the side of the main pile. Taking a closer look she was able to partially make out the title of one. 'Ninjas of–'. Her eyes widened in shock,

Was this her room?

She looked over at the other two, who were now sitting side by side, Nora still cradling Ruby.

"Ruby!" She gasped, eyebrows shooting up and causing blood to seep out of the gash on her face. She stood up quickly and fell forwards, landing on her dislocated shoulder. Nora turned green at the wet crunching noise as it slid farther out of place.

"Blake!" Ren quickly went to her aid, pulling her into a standing position. She continued limping forward, leaning heavily on his shoulder.

She looked down at her incapacitated leader and whispered, "What happened?"

"Don't know. She found us while looking for her sister." Nora responded quietly, stroking red hair out of Ruby's face. Motioning to the pile of rubble, she continued.

"She started digging through there before passing out on the floor. I went to comfort her while Ren kept picking through the pile. It's a long shot but Yang could be in there somewhere."

Blake's attention snapped over to the rubble before gaping at them. Angrily she demanded, "Why aren't you still looking?"

Without waiting for a response, she staggered to her feet and tried to take a step. Her ankle gave way, sending her tumbling to the floor. She ignored the pain and pulled herself forward, succeeding only in leaving behind sheets of burned skin.

"Blake!" Nora cried desperately, trying to get her to stop.

Ren leapt forward and dropped to his knees beside her, gently rolling her over to face him.

"We will keep searching, you rest."

"But—"

"You're going to injure yourself further." He soothed, picking her up

"I'm fine!" She insisted, embarrassed at being picked up.

"No, no you're not. Look at the trail you left behind." He responded, gesturing at the skin snagged on the floor.

He set her down next to Nora, laying her down lightly. She sighed softly as she relaxed into the pile.

"You hold Ruby." Nora chirped, transferring Ruby to Blake. Blake put her one good arm around the girl, lightly embracing her. Ren could have sworn he saw Ruby smile slightly at her touch.

The two returned to shifting through the pile, doubting whether they would find anything. Nora kept stealing glances back at Blake while she worked, trying to figure out how she was still conscious. Ren noticed her curiosity and asked for her,

"Blake?"

Her amber eyes looked up from Ruby, eyebrows rising slightly as if silently asking what was up.

"How did you get all banged up?"

She rested her head against a beam and sighed, letting her eyes close.

"Well, I guess I'll start at the beginning."

Blake shifted into a more comfortable position, composing herself before trying to remember what happened. Taking a deep breath, she began.

* * *

Groggily, Blake's eyes opened. She arched her back and stretched out her arms, trying to sooth her aching muscles. She sat up silently in the dark. Moonlight shone through the window, illuminating the sprawled shapes of Ren and Nora. She smirked at how Nora had fallen asleep on Ren while she had been recounting her story.

Nora looked happy enough. Ren was his normal stoic self, though he looked slightly uncomfortable since Nora was squishing him against the floor.

Her eyes found Ruby sprawled across a bed, head and feet hanging off either side. Blake shook her head, predicting that her friend would regret falling asleep in such an uncomfortable position.

She groaned at the feathers covering the floor, knowing it was going to take ages to get rid of them.

Blake straitened her bow carefully before stroking her hair back with her fingers. She rolled her shoulders trying to get rid of the stiffness that had come with sleeping on the floor. Standing up she opened the door silently, stepping out into the dark hallway.

She quickly crossed over to her team's dorm, listening at the door for any activity. Hearing none, she turned the handle quietly, pushing the door open just enough to squeeze through. Examining the scene before her, she mentally congratulated herself on choosing to stay in JNPR's room.

The room was demolished, everything that could be thrown to the floor was. Both her and Yang's beds were in a heap, the books having supported them obviously having given way. Yang was sprawled face down across one of the mattresses, her blonde mane wildly shooting out in all directions. The carpet beneath her head had a telltale puddle from drool marking the spot under her mouth. Jaune and Pyrrha were sleeping on Weiss's bed. Both were smiling in their sleep. She smelled the air, eyebrows furrowing.

She inhaled deeply, trying to identify the scent.

She looked around the room scanning for clues. Partially hidden under several demolished beauty magazines she saw what she was after.

Blake sighed at Yang's impulsiveness and picked up the empty bottle. "Grimm's Vodka, Not for the Light of Heart". They were going to have to have a talk when she woke up. Partying was fine, but getting drunk in their room and destroying everything?

Blake sighed again. Her anger flared at Yang's foolishness. She sat the bottle down and looked around the room again, noticing that Weiss was missing. She rolled her eyes in exasperation, annoyed with the whole situation.

Deciding to deal with it in the morning, she went over to the bathroom. She opened the door only to feel it stop halfway with a small thudding noise. Poking her head around the door, she saw Weiss sprawled in an undignified heap on the floor.

"Great, now I can't even use the bathroom."

She was about to close the door when Weiss's eyes opened, catching sight of Blake.

"Hey Blake." Weiss slurred, giggling at Blake's surprised expression.

"Great. This is just wonderful. Now what am I going to do with her?" Blake muttered, glaring at her drunken teammate in annoyance.

Weiss hiccuped.

"You're lookin' pretty fine, Blakey." Weiss slurred again, grinning stupidly at her from the floor.

Blake slowly shut the door, removing herself from a mess waiting to happen.

She took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Wanting to be able to rest, she decided to go to the roof where she wouldn't have to deal with her drunken teammates. She dug through the wreckage of her corner of the room looking for Gamble Shroud. Sheathing it on her back and left, walking rapidly down the hallway away from the antics of her teammates.

Behind her came the loud bang of a door flying open, making her jump in surprise. She turned, expecting the worst. Weiss stood opposite her, clothed in her battle garb with Myrtenaster held lightly at her side. Grinning like a madwoman, she asked,

"Going out Blake?" She hiccuped again, the sound echoing down the deserted hall.

Blake's shoulders slumped in defeat. This was going to be a long night if she had Weiss following her.

"I'm sure you won't mind if I tag along." Weiss wobbled towards her, hooking her arm through Blake's.

Blake could smell the strong tint of alcohol on her breath. She snorted in disgust and continued down the hall, dragging Weiss behind her.

Her mind whirled, furiously trying to hammer out a way to be rid of Weiss. When nothing came to mind she decided extreme measures were warranted. She smiled deviously, looking forward to what she was planning.

"Weiss?"

"Yes Blakey?" Weiss eagerly responded.

"Why don't we go down to the courtyard and spar? We could both use the practice."

Weiss hiccuped again, nodding at the idea. "What a wonderful idea! I'll show you how a real huntress fights."

Blake rolled her eyes, just wanting to be done with this nonsense. She tiredly led her teammate to the courtyard in front of the school, ignoring her drunken babble.

Blake stepped out under the stars and took a deep breath of the cool night air. She smiled at the refreshing cool breeze. Only to be jolted back to reality by the heiress's whining.

"What are we doing out here, Blake?" Weiss complained, "It's cold. We should go back inside where it is warm."

Blake turned around to face her teammate, her patience at running out.

"I led you out here so I could knock you out and drag your body to the nearest janitor's closet." She growled. Weiss stared blankly at her for a moment, mouth slightly open.

"You can't do that! Do you know who I am?" Her face flushed with anger and her fists shook with rage.

"I'm Weiss Schn—"

The flat part of Blake's blade rang out as Weiss dropped like a sack of potatoes. She sprawled in the grass with a large welt swelling on her temple.

"You're going to regret that in the morning." Blake murmured under her breath, sheathing her weapon.

Blake grabbed Weiss's wrists and started across the yard, trying to remember where the nearest janitor's closet was.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: MadCinder

Until next time, when everything goes downhill… Fast.


	5. Chapter 4

Blake grabbed Weiss's wrists and started working her way towards the nearest janitor's closet. Her ears perked up, catching what sounded like an engine. Blake dropped into a crouch, looking around for movement quickly. She concentrated on listening to the noise, eyes closed.

Her suspicions were confirmed by a metallic whirring noise floating on the wind. She shrugged, picking up Weiss's wrists again. Weiss's boots clunked across the flagstones as Blake dragged her towards the building.

Suddenly the noise amplified tenfold, an airjet had risen above the edge of the cliff. Its searchlights panned the ground in front of it, illuminating everything in a brilliant white light.

Blake froze, "What the—"

The door was flung open, revealing a man wearing a dark purple suit complete with a gold chain hanging out of his pocket. His shaven head shone in the moonlight as he looked out at the school.

The search lights swept across Blake and Weiss before Blake had regained her senses. She saw the man point at them and yell something to the pilot. Whatever it was she wasn't going to be caught out in the open. Quickly slinging Weiss over her shoulder she sprinted back towards the building.

She could hear the jet getting closer and closer, to the point that she was almost able to hear the man's snickering.

"Look at em' run! Ha!" He laughed at the sight before him, "Cowards!" Lobbing a red crystal at their retreating backs, he motioned the pilot to stay on them.

The world exploded into fire around Blake, launching her face first into the ground. Weiss hit the ground and slid, the edges of flagstones ripping into her skin. She stopped spread eagled on her back, blood seeping from cuts on the side of her face.

Blake shook her head violently, trying to clear her head. She drew her weapon and shot at the figure in the jet, trying to get them to back off. Glancing over at Weiss, she was regretting her unfortunate outburst that had left the heiress unconscious.

"Why do these things always happen to me?" She muttered as she rolled over to Weiss, dodging another fireball.

She slapped Weiss repeatedly, trying to get her to wake up.

"Wake UP!" The only reaction was red palm prints appearing on the side of Weiss's face.

As she tried to sling Weiss onto her back another crystal dropped beside her, her eyes widened,

"Well, sh—"

The shockwave flung Blake into a pillar next to the door. Her head crashed into the stone mercilessly, sending her spiraling into a black abyss.

"That one got em'." He smirked at the singed lifeless forms below him. His eyes narrowed into slits before widening in surprise when he recognized the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. His eyes shot open in complete shock when he looked at Blake.

"Today must be my lucky day."

Blake fluttered in and out of consciousness, catching glimpses of the jet landing near Weiss. She fought the overwhelming pain off with everything she had, trying to stand. All she managed to do was keel over, now on her side next to the polished stone spire. Blood stained the pillar where her head had impacted, showing the brute force of the explosion.

"Weiss!" She slashed her way through the grogginess desperately, frantically trying to stand and fight.

The man had grabbed Weiss by her hair and was dragging her back towards the jet, his white gloves shining in the moonlight.

Blake staggered to her feet, hastily looking around for her weapon. Spotting it laying in the singed grass, she sprinted at it, drawing it and quickly taking aim at the man.

"Stop!" She shouted at him, trying to keep fear out of her voice.

Inside she was in turmoil, she was responsible for Weiss. Cold fear gripped her at the thought of losing Weiss because of her own irresponsible actions. Pushing everything away she focused at the task at hand.

He turned to face her, his high cheekbones and icy eyes sending shivers down Blake's spine.

"I'm surprised you survived. Unluckily for you, I have a schedule to keep, so I hope you don't mind if I make this quick." Smirking he held Weiss up, using her as a human shield. Wrinkling his nose at her,

"Gonna shoot me?" He sneered.

Blake lowered her weapon slowly. Rage consumed her, tearing apart her mind over the fact of her helplessness. She scowled, her eyes twitching with hatred. Her hair whipped in the downdraft from the jet.

"Didn't think so." He growled, triumph in his voice.

Keeping Weiss in between himself and Blake the he boarded the jet. He tossed Weiss aside once the jet's engines continued to throttle up in preparation of lift off. He reached in his pocket, pulling out another red crystal. Flipping it in his hand he grinned lopsidedly,

"Goodbye." He threw the gem at where Blake's head would have been just a moment before.

Blake ducked at the last minute and sprinted at the ascending jet.

Her mind was totally focused on her movements. Everything had faded out of her vision except the jet and the man within.

The man solemnly watched the fireball envelop Blake, thinking that he had snipped another loose thread. Bullets whizzed at his head, making him snarl at her stubbornness.

Dodging to the side quickly, he drew a small pistol from inside his jacket. He shot and missed over and over again, ending up throwing the gun out the door in disgust.

Blake drew Gambol Shroud, letting her fingers lightly grasp it as she ran at the jet. The jet had started to move forward, as it had gotten high enough to clear the walls surrounding the yard.

She threw her weapon, letting the ribbon spool out behind it. It spun into the underside of the jet, the blade sinking into the metal. She yanked on the ribbon, sending herself flying at the jet. Swinging around the underside she landed on top, lightly landing on her feet.

The jet stopped moving, hovering in place next to fifth story windows. Taking a deep breath, she transferred the ribbon to her left arm, wrapping it several times around her wrist. She flung herself into empty space, hoping that the blade was still in place. The ribbon snapped taught at the bottom of her ark, swinging her back up towards the hatch on the other side.

She came in upside down feet first towards the open door, expecting to see the man standing there looking for her. Instead, the doorway was empty, leaving nothing to stop Blake from slamming into the jet's interior.

She slammed into the grating of the jet's floor with her right foot, feeling the ankle snap. The rest of her followed, her burnt skin imprinting with the pattern of the grating. She lay sprawled on the floor dazed, her vision swimming. Blearily, she saw the man step towards her from the shadows. His polished black shoes gleamed in the low red lighting.

Blake fought through the daze furiously, desperately trying to think of Weiss. She blinked, seeing Weiss's unconscious form laying bound and gaged against a wall. The side of her face was swollen from Blake's attack. Her mouth was slightly open and hair disheveled from being dragged.

Her world rapidly returned when the man kicked her viciously in the chest. Ribs cracked as he kicked her again and again. She felt his fingers close around her throat as he picked her off the floor. Suffocating, she wrenched at his hand trying to get air. His cold eyes stared into her own, impassively watching her slowly die.

In desperation she took a swing at his face with her right arm. Her nails clawed his face, gouging out long gashes in his pale skin.

Enraged, he swung her head first into the side of the jet, repeatedly slamming her into it. She faded in and out of consciousness, feeling the back of her skull slowly being crushed by the blows.

The man wrapped both gloved hands around her neck as he held her above the floor, putting his weight into pushing her into the wall. Her hands hung limply at her sides, blood dripping off her fingertips. Bleary amber eyes stared at his face as black started to fill her vision. Terror gripped her as she faded into blackness.

"Had enough yet?" He taunted as her face turned blue.

He dropped her to the floor. She sucked air into her lungs desperately, her vision returning. Her limbs were lead weights, paralyzed as the man crouched down in front of her.

"That'd be too easy wouldn't it?" He grinned at her wounded body, licking his lips.

Blake was frozen with fear, helpless as she watched the man take her discarded ribbon and wrap it around her left arm until it was knotted tightly around her wrist. He drew a long serrated knife from his coat, lifting Blake's head up with the tip.

Inside, Blake was on fire. She was raging and howling at the world, screaming at the pain and unfairness. She screamed at herself at being the one to cause this, the one who had struck her teammate down because of some childish outburst.

A tear dropped onto her cheek, stinging the scorched flesh. She closed her eyes, waiting for the knife to slit her throat.

He looked at her, and started to laugh. His sadistic laughter filled the jet, filling Blake with a feeling of dread. She looked at him, knowing she was powerless to help herself or Weiss. Taking her right hand up to his face he stared into her eyes, excitement coursing through him.

"You have suffered Blake Belladonna. Once you were great, but now–" He looked down at her broken figure.

"You are nothing. You have abandoned your race pretending to be human. They weakened you with every minute of their lives, dragging you down with them. They made you a husk of what you could have been." He searched through her eyes sadly looking for something he knew was not there.

"Without them we are strong Blake. Or have you forgotten? So easily you were able to do whatever necessary before. Kill. Maim. Torture?" He spoke quietly, remembering past events.

"But then your conscience intervened guiding you down a path that lead you here." He gestured to her burns, the skin starting to peel off in blackened sheets.

"Today is when we get to be the oppressors. Today we get to use them as slaves, as they did us for millennia. They will suffer everything they have done to us multiplied tenfold." He smiled at her sadly, numbing her mind even further. Tears ran down her face, washing away the blood oozing from her burns.

"Today is our day of glory. Sadly for you, you will not get to see our kind prevail. You die a traitor to your brothers and sisters." He smirked at her, inhaling the scent of her fingers.

"I take these from you. A monument to all your sins." He put her ring and pinky fingers in his mouth and bit down, twisting his head down and away from her, shattering the bones. He sawed with his teeth slicing through the flesh, blood squirting into his mouth.

Blake was numb. She felt nothing as the man brutally tore her fingers off with his teeth. Her blood splashed the floor, running down the deck in a dark red river. He spat her fingers onto the floor, where they lay curled, blood oozing onto the floor.

She watched helplessly as he sliced across her face with his knife from ear to mouth. Blood cascaded off her chin, pooling on her chest. A silent scream of pain echoed through her skull as the man wiped the blood off the knife, returning it to his jacket. He picked her up gently, her blood staining the corners of his mouth.

"Goodbye Blake Belladonna. May eternity pardon your sins." He gently let her roll out of his arms, her debilitated body falling into nothingness.

Air whipped past her head as she fell, his cold blue eyes locked on her face.

Her eyes filled with tears, pain enveloping her as memories flashed through her mind.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered silently.

Her left arm yanked out of its socket as the ribbon tied around her wrist snapped taught, yanking Gambol Shroud loose from the underside of the jet.

The man shrank to a speck as she fell towards the ground. She blinked at the stars, realizing just how beautiful they were.

The world went away with an awful splashing noise, sending her into nothingness.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: MadCinder

Coming up on Monday: Yang. Down and out for the count? Or super saiyan murder spree?


	6. Chapter 5

"And that is how I got here." Blake trailed off, her eyes closing at the conclusion of her tale.

Her face had shown no emotion through the entire thing, never once letting it affect her. Knowing that if she did she would break into a million pieces, as her mind wouldn't be able to handle the torture again.

Believing it best, she had omitted her conversation with the man, if it could even be called a conversation. Stating instead that he had simply cut off her fingers and slashed her face for good measure before throwing her out.

Ren and Nora stared at Blake, dumbfounded. Ren looked grave, his face grey from the horrific pain Blake had endured. Nora had collapsed onto her knees at some point, horrified at the agony Blake had been through.

Silence filled the air around them as the two tried to gather their thoughts. Ren kept pulling junk off the rubble that was once team RWBY's room, his body in autopilot mode.

"But... but you didn't say how you actually got here. Or how you're still alive!" Nora wondered aloud, completely confused.

Her eyes examined every inch of Blake from the top of her bow to her swollen right ankle, engrossed by her stubbornness to die.

"Don't get me wrong, but by all rights you should be dead. I'm happy that you are alive and all, but how did you survive being cut up, broken, bashed against a wall, and dropped five stories?" She asked rapidly, her voice low.

"Well, it did help that I fell into a fountain." Blake explained slowly, "I was also lucky enough to not drown while I was unconscious. After that I don't remember much up until I found you two."

Blake was slowly coming out of shock. Her pupils were no longer dilated and what little undamaged skin left on her face had regained color. During the last part of her story she had slowly been regaining feeling of her body. The pain was not severe, but it was getting uncomfortable.

She shifted her position slightly and quickly doubled over, pain shooting through her broken ribs. Grunting at the discomfort, she felt her aura crackle into existence. Her eyes clenched shut as the air around her radiated with light.

She was awash in agony as the energy channeled itself into her wounds. Her limbs felt like they caught fire as her aura went to work, making her curl into a ball. Low moaning emanated from her, showing the amount of pain she was enduring.

"Blake!" Nora went to her aid, pulling Ruby out of Blake's now clenched arms. She propped Ruby up on a singed beam, looking back at Blake.

Her flesh was crawling, knitting itself back together. A loud squelching noise echoed down the hall as her shoulder yanked back into place. Her hair writhed like snakes as it grew out, radiating with black energy. Blake's face stretched into a silent scream of pain as her ribs fit back together, making crunching noises as bone fragments ground across each other.

The energy dissipated into the air leaving Blake crunched up in a ball, breathing heavily, trying to unclench her tensed muscles. She exhaled slowly and sat up, gently holding her head in between her hands.

"Are you okay?" Nora asked from the floor, kneeling in front of Blake. Her worried face shadowed in the flickering light.

"Yeah. I'm fine, just wasn't expecting that to happen." She smiled weakly, "Heck of a time for your aura to flare up."

Nora snickered, smiling broadly at Blake. Tired amber eyes smiled back. Blake lay back onto the rubble again, exhaling slowly as she rolled her shoulder tenderly. Wincing slightly as spasms of pain shot down her arm, she slowly drifted into unconsciousness

"Let her rest Nora, she needs it."

"Okay, Ren. Made any progress?"

"If we're going to find anything it will be under this mattress here, I've been trying to clear the bricks off it so I can tip it over." He threw a large fractured brick off the pile, shattering it into dust when it hit the floor.

They worked in silence, shoving rubble off the mattress, each absorbed in their own thoughts.

Fires crackled gleefully as they consumed the wooden beams, casting shadows on the aged brick walls. Smoke drifted through the air and the whispers of wind echoed through the hall. A distant howl sent shivers down their spines, making them glance at the mutilated bodies of Beowolves nervously. Ruby's inert form sprawled on the floor, her chest raising and falling slowly. Blake slept peacefully, the gash on her face slowly scabbing over as she snored softly.

"Lets flip it." Ren and Nora each took an end, reading themselves to lift. Ren looked over at Nora,

"One."

"Two."

"Three!" They grunted as they heaved it up and off, flipping it over.

Yang's aura blasted out into the air, burning like the sun. She had kept herself alive for hours using it as a shield from the tons of weight on top of her. Her face was lined with wrinkles. There were heavy black bags under her eyes. She was barely breathing as she lay on her side, legs pulled up to her chest. A pool of blood soaked into her cloths, staining her leather jacket and streaking her hair. Her skin shone with blood and sweat in the golden light.

Nothing moved as they got over their shock of finding her alive. Their eyes reflected her golden aura, dumbfounded at the willpower and strength she had to keep herself alive.

Yang's eyes fluttered open, dimly focusing on them.

"Took you long enough." She croaked, her aura fading and head relaxing back onto the floor.

Ren swooped down, picking her up gently. She was limp in his arms, barely aware of what was around her.

Yang's vision swam around her. She was only able to make out the shape of Nora standing nearby with a worried expression on her face.

"Nora, can you make a spot next to Ruby?" Ren asked, thinking it best the siblings be together.

"Ruby!" Yang jolted at the mention of her sister's name, almost causing Ren to drop her.

"She's fine Yang, just worried about you."

The blonde squirmed again, trying to catch sight of Ruby,

"Ruby! Answer me!"

Ren shushed the blonde gently,

"Save your energy, she is unconscious right now."

Yang's eyes flickered red as she stared up at Ren in frustration,

"Put me down. I want to see my sister."

Ren slowly lowered Yang to the floor while Nora cleared away the bricks, clearing a spot on the floor next to Ruby. Ren held onto Yang's shoulder, keeping her from falling onto her face.

Yang stumbled forward before Ren could stop her. She fell onto her sister gently, holding her sister's face with her hands. A tear dropped onto Ruby's face as Yang started to sob over her. Completely breaking down, she buried her face in Ruby's shirt, sobs shaking her body.

Nora slid over to Ren, wrapping her arm around his waist. She accidentally brushed his wound, making him go pale and exhale in pain. He pried her arm off, feeling blood soak his cloths again.

Nora glanced over at Ren, frowning at his reaction. Her eyes widened when she saw him grimacing in pain as fresh blood stained his tunic.

"You're hurt!" She fretted, trying to get him to sit.

"It's nothing." He groaned.

His pale face said otherwise to Nora. She laid him back, gently undoing his shirt. Her eyes widened when she noticed long rips in the fabric, reaching from his midriff to collar.

"I don't think this is necessary. I'm fine, really." He tried brushing her hands away.

"Shut up." She growled at him, making him sigh in resignation.

She undid the last catch and peeled away the fabric. Her hand shot to her mouth as she gasped at the severity of the wound.

There were two long gashes reaching from his abs to collarbone. His white ribs were clearly visible along with the severed muscle of his shoulder. The skin around the cut was dark red, inflamed and infected. Dried blood covered his chest in a thin crispy sheet, flaking off at his every breath. Fresh blood ran from the wound where Nora had pulled on it.

Nora stared at Ren in horror, her eyes wide with fear.

"It's not as bad as it looks. Just a flesh wou—" He tried explaining,

"NO!" She almost shrieked, "This is bad! It is infected and still bleeding!" She stopped suddenly, her face going from worried to angry in an instant,

"Why aren't you using your aura?"

"I… I um—" He desperately tried to come up with an excuse, "I'm saving it in case someone needs it."

"That is a lie." She was disappointed at his feeble attempt to deceive her, "You need it more then anyone else here."

She crossed her arms and starred at him, slightly pissed at his stubbornness.

"Well? I'm waiting." She glared at his wound meaningfully, waiting for his aura to flicker into existence.

"Nora." He looked up into her eyes, wanting her to forget about it.

She looked at his face, mouth pulled into a small frown. Her eyebrow raised slightly,

He stared into her soul, pondering whether to tell her the truth,

"Nora, I can't." Her face darkened, eyebrows coming together in anger.

"Why not?"

"I—" His throat tightened, "I used it." He couldn't look at her.

Nora thought about this for a moment,

"It should be regenerated by now. You used it last for me. That couldn't have taken it all." Her arms fell to her sides, limp at her realization.

"Ren, did you sacrifice it for me?" Silence filled the space between them, making Ren shift uncomfortably under her gaze.

"I may have." He whispered.

Nora stood up quickly, looking angrily down at him. Her fists clenched as her jaw flexed,

"How could you?" She shouted in angrily. Turning down the hallway, she stormed away with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Nora, wait!" He slowly sat up, grimacing at the blood. His head swam, making him lay back down before he fell over. Burying his face in his palms he groaned,

"Nice going Ren."

Nora had collapsed against a wall, furiously punching it with her fist.

Why? Why!? Why did he do that! I'm not worth the price he paid. He should have known I wouldn't want this.

Pain and anger filled her as she slid down onto the floor. Sitting in a messy pile, she cried silently, tears dropping onto her chest.

Silence filled the air once again, only disturbed by the crackling of fires and faint howls drifting on the wind.

Blake stirred, her face twitched several times before she winced. She dabbed at her face with her hand, checking for blood. Sighing, she sat up and instantly spotted Yang.

"Yang!"

She pulled herself over to her partner, pushing blonde locks away from her face. Yang was crushing Ruby in her arms, snoring slightly as she slept. Ruby looked peaceful in her sister's arms, a small smile on her lips.

Blake smiled, happy to see the two reunited. She pulled herself into a sitting position and tried to ease her sore muscles. Every breath she took made her shudder in pain. Breathing lightly she stretched out her body, groaning as she flexed her aching calves.

She stopped dead, pupils wide looking for movement around her. Her head snapped around, eyes closed as she tried to locate the noise. Brows furrowing she concentrated.

The howls of a Beowulf pack sliced through the night, making her jump at their closeness.

Ren sat up quickly, fighting off dizziness,

"Was that—"

"Yes. Go get Nora, I'll get these two moving."

Ren nodded. Standing slowly, he turned towards Nora.

Blake turned to Yang, shaking her shoulder urgently.

"Yang!" She hissed into her ear, "Wake up, we need to go."

"Just five more minutes, okay?" She sleepily mumbled back, hugging Ruby even tighter.

"No. Beowolves are coming this way. Judging by the howls there are a lot of them." She continued to shake Yang's shoulder, getting more violent.

Yang snapped awake at the mention of Beowolves, her hair glowing weakly. She sat up, letting Ruby roll onto her lap.

"Blake, what happened to you?" Yang exclaimed, gesturing at Blake's face. "You look like you're trying to copy Weiss!"

Blake looked at the floor, anger pushing its way back into her gut.

"Speaking of Weiss, where is she?" Yang continued, looking around for the heiress.

"She was kidnapped." Blake stated flatly. Before Yang could respond she went on, "Can you walk? We need to get out of here."

"I can try."

Blake stood, giving the blonde a hand up. Yang wobbled dangerously, almost falling over. Blake steadied her, letting her find her balance.

Blake crouched down and lifted Ruby over her shoulder, her limp arms dangling down Blake's back. She strained slightly under Ruby's weight, her aching muscles protesting painfully.

"Grab Crescent Rose will you? She would be pissed if we left it."

Obeying, Yang swiped it off the floor, tucking it under her arm. Looking down the hall she spotted the other two,

"Ren! Nora! You guys good?" Yang shouted down at them.

Ren was sitting next to Nora, letting her sob into his shoulder. He glanced at Nora before responding,

"We need to go. It isn't safe here anymore."

She nodded pitifully, wiping tears from her eyes.

They stood, walking side by side back to the others. Yang noted Nora's sniffling, frowning slightly,

"You okay Nora?"

Nora shot a glance over to Ren before nodding. She whipped her nose on her glove, sniffing softly. Ren starred at his feet, pretending he didn't exist.

Yang raised her hands in a questioning gesture, as if to ask what was going on.

Blake tried to shrug, only to stagger under Ruby's weight.

A Howl echoed down the hall, making them all jump.

"Time to go." Yang declared, her voice urgent.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: MadCinder

Next time: Their daring escape from Beacon. What can go wrong?


	7. Chapter 6

"Strength comes from who you surround yourself with. Friends empower you and allow you to accomplish your dreams. The heart guides and gives us our power. Without it we would be nothing, no better then the Grimm that infest our world."

Keeper of the Heart, deceased 12 years prior to present.

* * *

Blake crashed into a wall, her breath rasping painfully. She had very little strength left to run, as they had been dodging Grimm for the last half hour trying to get out of Beacon.

"Just go on! I'm only slowing you down." She panted, holding herself up weakly.

"NO! You are coming whether you like it or not." Yang shouted at her, shifting Ruby on her shoulders angrily.

"Come on! We are almost there, I can see the airships from here." Nora encouraged, pointing across a courtyard.

Ren nodded weakly in agreement. He was only able to stand because Nora was supporting his weight

"Start across, I'll run after you." Blake gasped past her strained breathing.

"Blake Belladonna, you are going to run across the courtyard with us." Yang scolded, eyes lined with red.

Blake looked up at her partner, trying to find strength to continue. She straightened, taking a deep breath. Her lungs were on fire, the agony of exertion taking its toll. She leaned back against the wall, letting her head fall limply back. Her mouth twitched, hinting a smile,

"What's so funny?" Yang asked, confused.

"I'll tell you later." Blake responded, looking at the sky.

Stars twinkled brightly above. Dark black clouds drifted by, unaffected by the world around them. The moon was shattered, its pieces trailing off into nothingness. It had entered its final period of waxing, in days it would be full. Moonlight cast shadows around them, making them seem like ghosts in the darkness. Smoke from the academy drifted through the air, swirling around open fires.

"Looks like the coast is clear." Nora piped up, peering through the dark towards the front gate.

Blake pushed off the wall, glancing around to make sure. Seeing nothing in the darkness around them, she agreed.

"She's right."

A howl ripped through the silence around them, reminding them of the imminent danger hunting them.

Nora took off, half carrying Ren, his protests falling on deaf ears. Yang and Blake were not far behind, the sound of their panting echoing around them.

"There it is!" Yang cried out, catching sight of their goal.

A single airship still hovered in front of the school. Its giant metal wings flapped slowly, keeping it aloft. No light shone through its many windows, its outline blocking out a vast silhouette against the stars.

Yang struggled with Ruby's weight on her back, barely able to keep up with the group. Blake was beside her, her long strides broken by a painful limp.

Howls cut through the air from behind them. They had been located by the Beowolves. Their glowing black eyes shone with delight at the easy prey before them.

The ground shook as the pack gave chase, closing the distance rapidly. Blake could hear the panting behind her, looming ever closer. She fought down the fear numbing her limbs, desperately trying to ignore the pain shooting through her every step.

Nora skidded to a halt just inside the open door. Propping Ren up against a wall she drew Magnhild, firing grenades into the approaching hoard. Pink explosions ripped through the stampede, sending pieces flying. She looked over the battered courtyard swarming with Grimm, more appearing from the ruins every moment, attracted to the chase. Her gaze fell on Blake and Yang, barely keeping ahead of their drooling maws, Ruby tossing like a rag doll across Yang's shoulders.

Nora shivered, knowing it was going to be close.

"You're almost here! Run!" She shouted over grenades going off.

Blake was on her last legs, every time she came down on her right ankle it exploded in pain. It hadn't completely healed when her aura had flared up. She saw Nora firing over her head into the crowd behind them, trying to buy them time.

Blake heard a snarl behind her, claws raked across her back, ripping through her skin with ease. She staggered, barely keeping her balance. Blood flowed down her back as she neared the door, fear numbing her to the pain.

Nora rushed past her as she cleared the door, swinging her hammer viciously at her pursuer. An explosion ripped through the night, sending dirt and fragments of the concrete flying. She swung her hammer in wide arks, keeping the area clear.

Ren threw the switch to close the door,

"Nora!"

She blasted the rest of her clip into the mob, sending broken corpses flying. Turning to the door she sprinted, rolling through the door just before it closed.

Blake collapsed onto the floor next to Yang, exhaustion overcoming her. Her muscles burned in agony as she panted furiously, trying to catch her breath.

Yang threw her a small smile before turning to her sister. Ruby was propped up against the wall, chest rising and falling slowly.

The door shook as Beowolves threw themselves against the door, their snarls echoing through the empty airship.

"No time to rest, we need to get this thing moving." Ren groaned as the door began to buckle.

Yang staggered to her feet, throwing Ruby across her shoulders. Blake stood up, clutching the wall for support. Her vision swam as she almost toppled over. A pool of blood marked the floor where she lay.

Nora's eyes widened,

"Blake, you're hurt."

She put her arm around Blake, steadying her. Blake's back was sticky from blood oozing from her wound.

Blake smiled weakly,

"Thanks." She rasped.

"We need to go!" Ren reminded them, worried at the intensity with which the Beowolves were beating at the door.

"Um, anyone know where the cockpit is?" Yang asked, as they began down the hall.

"It's at the front, silly." Nora answered, her tone saying, "Where else could it be?"

"Perhaps we could just follow the signs?" Blake pointed out, gesturing at a plaque on the wall, arrows pointing to various areas of the craft.

Yang smirked at Blake,

"Way to go."

Blake shook her head, too lazy to come up with a retort. Her eyes widened when Yang stumbled, succumbing to exhaustion.

With a crash Yang fell to the floor, her legs finally giving out under Ruby's weight. Yang groaned from beneath her sister, gasping air back into her lungs.

Nora pulled Ruby off Yang, pulling her into a sitting position. Yang sat back against a wall, trying to stretch out her aching muscles.

"We need to wake her, none of us have the strength to carry her." Ren said, leaning on the wall, his face pale.

Blake nodded faintly, agreeing.

"Ruby, wake up." Nora said into her ear, shaking her face gently.

Nora shook her roughly,

"Wake up!" Nora shouted, afraid that Ruby may not wake up.

"Nora, let me try." Yang whispered, slumped carelessly against the bulkhead. Her eyes were dim, her eyelids fluttering.

Nora pulled Ruby over to Yang, laying her across Yang's lap.

Yang embraced her sister, whispering softly into her ear.

"Ruby, wake up." Her lilac eyes teared up, fogging over with grief. She stroked Ruby's hair softly, holding her gently.

"You're safe. I'm here. Blake is here. Ren, Nora, we're all here for you Ruby." Yang gently spoke into her ear, comforting her.

"You need to wake up. I need you Ruby." Yang's tears dropped onto her sister's face, leaving streaks in the grime.

Yang clutched her sister in a tight embrace, her heart tying itself into knots.

Ruby stirred, barely moving. Her eyelids fluttered, dull grey eyes blearily taking in the world.

"Yang." Ruby breathed.

"Ruby!" Yang crushed her sister in her arms, her exhaustion all but forgotten.

"You're hurting me." She groaned, her ribs crunching painfully.

"Sorry." Yang loosened her grip, letting Ruby fall back onto her lap. Her hands stroked her face gently, wiping away Ruby's tears.

Ruby smiled weakly at her sister, tears running from the corners of her eyes. Yang smiled back,

"Love you sis."

"Hate to break up your guys' reunion, but we're short on time." Ren interrupted, holding his chest painfully.

Ruby nodded, taking her sister's hands, they climbed to their feet, holding each other up. She caught sight of Blake leaning against the bulkhead, alarm ran through her at the severity of her wounds.

Blood soaked Blake's cloths, fresh blood marking Nora's arm where she was supporting her. The gash on her cheek oozed slightly, blood dripping off her chin whenever she moved.

"Blake, you're hurt." Ruby whispered, concern weighing down her voice.

Blake waved her arm in dismissal,

"I'm fine."

Ruby recoiled at the sight of Blake's hand, feeling bile rise to the back of her throat.

"Your hand!"

Blake slid her hand in her vest pocket, trying to hide the stumps of two fingers.

"It's nothing Ruby," Blake kept her voice calm, "The bridge should be up there." She pointed with her left arm, gesturing up a flight of stairs farther down the corridor.

Ruby felt sick. She was horrified at the sight of Blake's disfigured hand, blaming herself for her teammate's injuries. Her mind echoed with thoughts of guilt, everything screaming at her, saying everything was her fault. She shook her head trying to clear her head.

Yang glanced at her, concerned she was taking it too hard.

"You okay?"

Ruby shook her head, pulling her towards the stairs.

Blake followed, supported by Nora. Ren took the back, glancing briefly at the smear of blood he left on the wall.

The cockpit was basic, with two instrument stations, each having a joystick and a set of gauges indicating the status of various systems. Each station had a set of switches controlling the dust engines and control system, lights flicking on and off randomly.

They stood staring at the flashing lights and various controls in silence,

"Um, ah." Yang started awkwardly, "Anyone know how to fly one of these?"

Yang shifted uncomfortably on her feet as silence filled the cabin.

"We could, um" She continued, rambling on, "Wait!" An idea crossed her mind,

"You think there is an instruction manual somewhere? With circles and arrows on the back of each page explaining what everything is?"

They looked at her skeptically. Sighing she continued,

"Well, at least they could have left—" She broke off, interrupted by Blake.

"Help me into the chair."

Blake sighed, cursing silently. Now there would be questions. Why did she have to be the only one that knew how to pilot the blasted airship?

They looked at her, startled.

"You can fly?" Ruby asked, stunned.

Blake glared at her,

"Just help me okay?"

Nora guided her gently onto the cushioned seat, wiping her arm on her skirt.

"You know how to fly one of these?"

Blake ignored her question, checking the status of the engines. She pushed some levers up, feeling the deck vibrate beneath her feet.

"Blake?" Yang asked softly, "Have you flown one of these before?" Her eyes stared into the back of Blake's head, drilling holes into her skull.

Blake nodded curtly, flipping some switches with precise, efficient movements. Yang furrowed her brow, frustration seeping into her mind. Ruby stepped away from her, going to sit in the copilot chair. She looked at Blake, disturbed at her frosty demeanor. Blake's face was blank, her amber eyes showing nothing as they scanned the control panel. The craft pulled away from the mooring slowly, gaining altitude in the night sky.

"Blake, are you okay?" Ruby asked slowly.

Blake glanced at her, narrowing her eyes. She shoved away the fear rising inside her, composing herself before putting an end to the questions.

Her fists clenched the joystick, breathing deeply she continued. "Yes I can fly. "

She sent daggers at Ruby, glaring her into submission.

"Whoa," Yang frowned, "Somebody got slashed by the wrong Beowulf."

Blake felt her aura thrashing inside her, trying to seep into the air around her. She breathed deeply, fighting as panic started to emerge. The barriers in her mind started to crack, weakened from the black torrent of memories bubbling back into her mind.

The air around her shimmered, dark violet blurring her outline as her aura leaked out.

Ruby sat back, amazed by Blake's reaction. She sent a worried glance at her sister, getting a shrug in response. Looking back at Blake, her brow furrowed. Biting her lip, she opened her mouth to speak.

"What do you want?" Blake shot at Ruby, making her jump at the sharpness of the words.

"I want to know what is going on!" Ruby shot back, annoyed.

"Nothing." Blake hissed, "Just leave me be!"

Ruby frowned, glaring at the side of Blake's face.

"Obviously, something is wrong. This is not like you." She watched a bead of sweat drip off her brow,

"Your aura, your reaction to simple questions. I'm worried about you, Blake."

Blake was hyperventilating. She stared out the windscreen trying to crush the terror tearing her apart piece by piece. Her mind was overloaded, fuses blown to bits. She fought for her sanity, trying to stem the dark tide of memories threatening to wash her away into oblivion.

"Blake—" Yang began, standing behind Blake. Trying to comfort her, she rested her hands on Blake's shoulders.

"Get. Off." Blake snarled, shaking Yang's hands off her shoulders. With each word her aura pulsed, getting brighter. Dark violet energy erupted around her, shoving Yang backwards.

"What the hell, Blake!" Yang shouted, her eyes flashing crimson.

Ruby stood up, shocked and worried for her teammate.

"Blake! Snap out of it!" Ruby shouted, "Get a gr—"

She stopped, frozen by the absolute terror gripping Blake. Her skin was sickly white. Violent tremors ripped through her as dark aura licked the air viciously around her. The joystick in her hands cracked and popped in her hands, threatening to rip off the control panel. Her black hair blazed with energy as everything melted around her. Gauges exploded as aura stabbed through the air, decimating anything it sliced through.

Ruby dove to the floor as dark spears of energy lanced around the cabin. Sparks flew through the air as electronics overloaded, sending shrapnel flying through the air.

Blake collapsed on the control panel, unconscious from the violent outburst. Sirens screamed around them. Smoke filled the air, lit up by flashing warning lights on control panels. The deck of the ship pitched violently, tossing them around wildly.

Yang crawled to her feet. She frowned, the tilt of the deck started to get unsettling. Her eyes flew to the windscreen, her stomach doing flips.

"Well," Yang whispered softly, "That's the ground."

Ruby stood next to her sister, holding her tattered arm gingerly. Her eyes shot open,

"Yang, that's not just the ground. That's Vale!"

The airship picked up speed as it fell from the sky, on a collision course with the outskirts of Vale. The city was dark, the only light coming from buildings engulfed in fire. Pillars of smoke rose from the city, blocking out the shattered moon.

Ren and Nora joined them.

"Shouldn't we be doing something?" Nora asked, uneasy at the pending collision with the ground.

"Nora, the controls are all fried." Ren responded quietly, gesturing at the blackened remains of the cockpit around them.

"Oh." She responded, downcast by his lack of hope.

Ren embraced Nora, holding her softly. She closed her eyes, a tear dripping onto his shoulder. Ren smiled sadly, stroking her hair slowly. He whispered into her ear, comforting her.

"We'll be fine."

"Blake…" Ruby murmured, remembering her teammate. She watched as Yang cautiously approached Blake, worry weighing her down. Outside, the ground screamed up at them, getting closer and closer.

Yang pulled Blake off the console, leaning her back in the chair. She gasped when she saw her partner's face. Her cheeks were gaunt, as if she had aged years in just minutes. The gash down the side of her face was healed, leaving a jagged scar across her face.

"Blake!" Yang cried, grief overcoming her. She fell to her knees next to her friend, clutching her limp hand desperately.

"Yang!" Ruby shouted, alarm shooting through her.

"Ruby." Yang whimpered, glancing up at her sister. Anguish filled her, leaving her empty.

The ground embraced them in a mess of twisted metal and fire as the airship completed its journey. They were hurled into the windscreen, sending the world spiraling into oblivion.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: MadCinder

Next time: Running through the streets of Vale. What refuge do they seek? Only what can be found in the middle of the night… During a terrorist takeover.


	8. Chapter 7, The Innkeeper

Fires hissed and spat sparks into the night sky. Glowing cinders floated on the wind, flipping and fluttering around in thick black smoke. Air rushed towards the raging infernos engulfing the wrecked airship. Twisted metal fingers reached for the sky in vain as they withered and wilted against the heat. The once majestic titan of the sky lay bare against the streets of Vale.

Ruby slipped in and out of consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open. Yang lay crumpled against the pilot console, at least what was left of it. Shattered glass littered the floor, lodged in the side of Yang's face. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, dripping into a small pool on the metal floor. Fires flickered, casting shadows across her face.

Ruby slowly sat up, and coughed on smoke filling the cabin. Her body screamed in agony where she had crashed into the windscreen. The smoke made her eyes water as she glanced around, trying to get her bearings. She shook her head, clearing away the fog invading her mind.

Ruby scooted over to her sister, wincing as splinters of glass speared into her legs. She shook Yang's shoulder,

"Yang."

Yang slowly opened her eyes,

"What?"

"You okay?"

Yang grumbled as she sat up, feeling glass shards stab into her palms. She grimaced as she pulled the glass out of her cheek. Spitting out blood, she threw the last shard to the ground. Blood seeped down her cheek, making her scowl as she wiped it on her arm.

"Yeah. It'll take more then that to put me down." She growled, squinting against the smoke.

Ruby stuck out her arm, pulling Yang to her feet. Checking to make sure Crescent Rose was safely tucked under her arm, she turned to look for Ren and Nora.

Ren looked like he had seen death, and lost. His green shirt was badly stained with blood. He was slumped on Nora, keeping himself upright by leaning onto her shoulder. Nora had thrown her arms around him, supporting the majority of is weight.

"Well, any ideas on escaping before we suffocate?" Ruby looked at her friends, breathing through her shirt. Sweat ran down her face, dripping off her brow.

"The way is shut." Ren wheezed, gesturing towards the ladder they had entered from.

The entrance to the cockpit had collapsed, lower floors having taken the majority of the impact from the crash. Pieces of bent metal stabbed through the thin bulkheads, destroyed by the crash.

Yang jumped, she looked around wildly,

"Where is Blake?"

They looked around the cabin quickly, seeing nothing. Blake had vanished. The station she had been at was marked with small streaks of blood from her clawed back.

"Where did she go?" Nora asked, confused.

"Could she have shot her way out?" Ren supposed, frowning slightly.

"Maybe she was able to squeeze around the ladder?" Ruby added, worried for her teammate. She went to examine the crushed entrance, crouching beside the twisted metal blocking the hatch.

Yang walked over to the windscreen, squinting in the low light. Small cracks perforated the surface from one end to the other. She sighed at the dent her sister had managed to make on the slightly curved surface.

"She didn't get out by blasting her way out, that's for sure." Yang growled, turning back towards the rest. She rubbed the back of her head in annoyance.

Why, she thought, did Blake react like she did? And why did she run off? Yang scoffed to herself, screw that, how did she get out?

Her thoughts were interrupted by scorching heat beginning to fill the room, heating it like an oven. She wiped sweat off her face, feeling the heat wash across her in waves.

"You guys okay?" Yang said, squinting through thickening smoke. Her eyes stung, filling them with tears.

"We need to get out of here." Ren gasped, straining to breathe the scalding air.

"Nora, you got any grenades left?" Ruby asked, turning back to the others.

Nora gingerly picked Magnhild off the glowing floor. She spun the chamber, checking for any grenades left from the last firefight. She shook her head.

"Nada."

Ruby looked to her sister,

"Got any ammo left, sis?"

Yang activated her gauntlets, scattering empty shells in every direction.

"I've got nothing."

"Well, we're toast." Ren muttered.

"No silly, we're a pie!" Nora joked, "This isn't a toaster, it's and oven!"

"Now is not the time Nora." Ren rebuked, wincing as the air seared his throat.

"Watch out!" Ruby shouted, her eyes reflecting spheres of light flying towards the windscreen.

The explosion shattered the glass, sending shards flying everywhere. The smoke and heat rushed out the gap, letting cold air rush to take its place.

Yang fought to clear the blinding light from her vision. Her ears rang loudly, drowning out all other noise. She was on the floor, protecting her head with her arms. Fresh blood stuck to her cloths to her back, glass shards impaling her white skin. Her leather jacket was pinned to her by a thousand glass splinters, making her resemble a porcupine. Blinking her eyes, she saw Ruby crawling towards her.

Ruby crawled towards her sister, gritting her teeth as the glass in her legs was driven deeper. Her heart stopped when she put her hand in something warm and sticky. She clenched her eyes shut, pulling herself through the running blood.

Ruby opened her eyes, finding Yang in front of her. Yang struggled to keep her eyes open, her mouth twitched slightly upwards as Ruby looked down at her.

"Hey." She whispered, slowly beginning to feel her limbs again.

"Rest, we're safe now." Ruby soothed, "Help is sure to arrive soon."

"Hey! Over Here!" A voice cut through the night, "Seems they survived!"

"See? What'd I tell you." Ruby smiled, hope filling her that this nightmare may be coming to an end.

A faint shadow fell across her, blocking out the moon. Ruby looked up at the figure, only to be greeted by the business end of a rather large bazooka.

"Wha?" She whispered, confused. "Who are you?"

"Don't move! Or I will shoot you." He responded, clicking the safety off.

The moonlight silhouetted him against the sky. A white mask glinted in the light, obscuring his eyes.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping us?" Ruby blurted, disoriented.

The man scowled at them, smirking.

"Times have changed," he gloated, posing proudly, "The white fang is in charge now."

Green shots tore through his body, sending him to the floor in a slump. Ruby looked at his corpse, shocked at his sudden demise.

"Lets go before more show up." Ren coughed, spitting blood onto the floor.

Ruby pulled Yang to her feet, pulling her arm over her shoulder. Shouts echoed in the distance, signaling the approach of more goons. Nora dragged Ren over to them, StormFlower loosely in his grasp.

"Did he say the White Fang?" Yang muttered, gritting her teeth as she yanked glass out of her arms.

"Later." Ruby cut in, "We need to move. They're almost here."

Yang nodded, pulling herself and her sister out of the ruined cockpit. Ren and Nora followed as they limped across the wreckage towards the nearest street.

The airship had crashed into a row of apartment buildings, and skidded through the street in front, gouging the ground into giant trenches where the wings broke off. Pieces of the airship lay scattered through the street, fires engulfing nearby buildings that had survived the crash.

Ruby led them into a dark alleyway, around the corner from the crash. Shouts echoed behind them. The White Fang were angered that they had gotten away after killing one of them. Search orders were shouted, and the soldiers took off down the streets in a search pattern.

The sound of their footsteps followed them as they ran down the alley, dodging overflowing dumpsters and piles of garbage. Several random turns later, and they were lost in the back streets of Vale.

Yang threw herself onto the ground, not caring about the filth surrounding her. She gently laid her back against the wall, breathing heavily. Ruby joined her, Ren and Nora opposite them. They looked at each other, happy to have gotten away undetected. Their ragged panting slowly subsided, replaced by the uneasiness that came with being completely lost. Yang was the first to speak up.

"What do we do now?"

Ruby glanced over at her, amazed by her stamina and high pain tolerance.

"First, we need to do something about the glass in your back. It will get infected." Ruby replied.

Yang scoffed,

"You first, have you seen your arm?" She tipped her head at the arm, markedly pointing out the gashes that had scabbed over.

Ruby shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, her eyes flicked over to Ren and Nora.

"Ren needs it the most."

Ren was ghostly, his eyes were closed and arms folded across his chest. His chest rose and fell painfully, a small grunt of pain escaping every breath.

"How is he holding up, Nora?" Yang whispered, worry lining her face.

"He needs help," She looked up at the sisters. "Soon."

"The streets aren't safe, and the hospitals probably are controlled by the White Fang." Ruby paused. "Why are they in Vale anyway? I thought they were just a rouge group of terrorists?" She frowned. "When did they get to the point where they could take over Vale?"

Yang interrupted, brushing hair out of her face. "Attacking Beacon was probably part of their plan." Her eyebrows shot up. "What if it's a terrorist takeover?"

Ruby groaned as she stood up, her sore muscles screaming for rest.

"There is not much we can do about that now." She pulled Yang to her feet, "For now, we need to find a medic."

Yang nodded, turning to Ren.

"Can you walk?"

He nodded affirmative. Nora helped him to his feet, taking on his weight once again. Ruby peered down the alleyway,

"I think that's a street up there." She looked back at them, "From there we can look for an inn or something."

The street was deserted, flickering lampposts shone through a light mist drifting down the street.

Ruby shivered, goose bumps shooting up her arms. She pulled her cloak tighter around her, ignoring the tattered and bloodstained fabric.

"This way." She mumbled, starting down the cobbled street.

They walked in silence, watching and listening for patrols coming their way. All the windows they passed were dark, the doors bolted shut. Airjets passed overhead, barely clearing the rooftops as they scanned the streets with brilliant searchlights.

After several close calls and hasty retreats under the eaves of a café and a sandwich shop, they came to a small plaza. Small tables with umbrellas were overturned from a struggle that had taken place hours before. A short white fence lay splintered from explosions of dust, and bullet holes riddled the surrounding buildings.

Across the square there was a tidy brick building. Curtains were drawn across windows decorating the front of the short townhouse. A wooden sign hung from a post above the door. It squeaked as it swayed in the wind, the dark green lettering glinting in the moonlight.

Ruby squinted through the night, struggling to make out the words. She whispered as she made them out,

"Green's Inn" She turned to her companions. "I think that's an Inn over there. Think it's worth a shot?"

Yang shrugged, wiping the exhaustion out of her eyes. Nora nodded, straining against Ren's weight pulling her down. Ren's head was hung, low ragged breaths escaping from behind the hair obscuring his face.

They skirted the edge of the ruined plaza, the smell of spent dust stinging their noses as they passed. Clumps of soil littered the street, a reminder of the intensity of the battle fought.

Ruby knocked on the door softly. The sounded echoed around the square behind them, fugitive glances were shot around, looking for any sign of trouble. Ruby knocked again, urgency creeping its way into the knocks. Dread began to fill them at the prospect of having to continue to wander, hopelessly lost, for shelter.

Yang pushed her sister out of the way, her patience having run out. She cocked her fist back, ready to bash the door in.

Her fist stopped short when the door cracked open and a frightened pair of eyes peeked out at them. Yang blinked, her fist still held in front of her. Ruby pushed her aside and tried to look presentable. Forcing a smile, she gently spoke,

"Are you, uh," She stammered, "Are you open?" Her smile wilted under the harsh gaze of the eyes.

The eyes examined them, taking in their wounds. They focused on Ren, widening slightly at the amount of blood staining his cloths. The door was flung open, granting them entrance.

Yang rushed in, followed by Nora, supporting an incapacitated Ren. Ruby glanced around the square before entering, making sure there were no witnesses.

The door creaked shut behind them, filling the room with darkness. A match was lit, lighting several tall white candles.

The room was rather quaint, doilies decorated the small table tops under old glass lamps. Thick dark carpet stretched the length of the room, its intricate designs lost to the darkness. A small golden chandelier hung from the ceiling, glass jewels adorning the swooped ornamental metal. Flowered wallpaper lined the walls, the cheery flowers adding a splash of color. A narrow wooden staircase led upstairs, turning a corner before reaching the second floor.

They turned to the figure that had let them in, Ruby speaking up for them.

"Thank you."

"Look at yourselves. You're obviously in no condition to be out on the street at a time like this." A scratchy voice replied. "Though, as she was about to beat the door open, I didn't have much of a choice."

The elderly woman pointed her finger at Yang accusingly. Her grey hair framed her lined face, the shadows playing across it deviously, playing tricks on their eyes. A small pair of bronze fox ears contrasted against her hair.

"Sorry." Yang mumbled, shifting uncomfortably.

"No worries dearie." The voice continued, clearing her throat before continuing, "You are going to need to pay, however."

Ruby groaned softly, rubbing her temples she asked.

"How much?"

"350." She paused, humming thoughtfully.

Ruby reached for her scroll,

"Okay."

"A piece."

"WHAT!" Yang shouted, shocked and angry at the price. "That's a ridiculous amount for a one night stay."

A gleam appeared in Yang's eyes, hinting a threat of violence. She pulled her arms into view, letting her gauntlets activate in a flurry of mechanical motion.

"Maybe, it would be better if you let us stay for free?"

The lady smirked, unimpressed.

Ruby pulled her sister back, ignoring her complaints.

"We'll pay."

"Ruby!" Yang protested.

"Violence won't get us anywhere." Ruby snapped, not in the mood for antics.

Yang snorted disdainfully, turning away from her sister in a huff.

"I think it is fair, considering the amount of blood you've dripped on my carpet already." The lady chuckled.

Ruby completed the transaction in silence, trying to ignore her now empty bank account.

The Faunus smiled, turning to the stairway,

"Follow me."

She led them to a single room, lighting candles sitting on a side table and a dresser.

"You will find medical supplies in the cabinet behind the mirror. There are extra blankets in the closet." She paused at the doorway, light flickering on her face, "And try to not get blood on everything?"

She shut the door behind her, her footsteps fading down the hallway.

Nora guided Ren to a chair by a window. A set of plush red curtains blocked out the view of the plaza below. He passed out, finally succumbing to his wounds. Nora brushed the hair out of his face, worried at his catatonic state.

"One lousy bed?" Yang growled, clenching her fists. "For 1400 lien? Can't you see she is taking advantage of us?"

"Yes Yang, but she is just as much a victim of this thing as we are." Ruby reasoned, guiding her sister to the small bathroom. "If we had forced ourselves on her, we would be no better then those thugs out there." She jerked her finger towards the street outside.

"I guess you're right." Yang mumbled, barely aware as Ruby sat her down on the edge of the bathtub.

Ruby grabbed a washcloth and ran it under the sink, wringing out the excess water. She searched through the cabinet behind the mirror, pushing aside useless dietary supplements. Her gaze fell on a bottle of rubbing alcohol, she unscrewed it and tipped some onto the cloth.

Ruby turned to Yang, saddened by her defeated slump. She sat on the tub next to her, brushing the mane of hair off her sister's shoulders. Yang glanced at her tiredly, the dimness of her eyes betraying her exhaustion.

"We lost." Yang murmured hopelessly, "Pyrrha, Jaune, Weiss, Blake—" Her voice cracked. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back tears.

Ruby took her into her arms, avoiding the glass still lodged in her back. Yang buried her face in Ruby's neck, stifling sobs. Ruby struggled to hold back tears, eventually yielding to the cascade of pain.

They shook with despair and rage, the pain of loosing their friends taking hold of them. Their brush with death ran through their minds, brutally showing them just how fragile their lives had been.

Ruby crushed her sister in her arms, drinking the heat coming off Yang's skin. Her shoulder was wet from Yang's tears, her muffled cries slowly dissipating. Yang tilted her face towards her sister, a sheen of tears covering her face.

"Ruby." She choked out.

Ruby smiled weakly down at her, pulling her tighter.

"We'll find them." She promised, blinking the last of her tears out of her eyes.

Yang sat up, wiping her face on her jacket. She dimly smiled back. "Love you, Ruby."

Ruby punched her lightly on the shoulder. "What's family for?"

Yang winced at the punch. "Watch it, I'm kinda a pin cushion right now."

"Sorry." Ruby grabbed her washcloth, "Lets see what we can do about that."

Ruby helped Yang out of her leather jacket, wincing as the shards oozed blood. Yang pulled her hair out of the way and leaned forward, giving Ruby access.

Ruby took a deep breath and grasped the first shard, yanking it out quickly.

Yang bit back a cry of pain, feeling warm blood flow down her back. The shard clanked when Ruby threw it into the tub, her stomach revolting at the red staining the pristine white tub.

"How many more?" Yang moaned.

"A lot." Ruby sighed, knowing this was going to take awhile.

"Well, damn."

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: Melanie Malachite (Changed penn name)

**Note: **There has been an addition to the beginning of chapter 6...

Next time: Pyrrha, Weiss, and the man who attacked Beacon. What does he want? Only time will tell.


	9. Chapter 8, Prisoners

Weiss screamed as the water cascaded off her. She sputtered and gasped against the icy water that now drenched her. The water soaked her cloths, sticking them uncomfortably to her skin. The cold air in the room made her shiver uncontrollably, making her teeth chatter.

She opened her eyes and fought off the confusion numbing her mind.

She furrowed her brow, and tried to sit up. A band around her neck tightened painfully as she tried to move. She panicked, jerking her hands to her neck, desperately trying to relieve the pressure. Her arms stopped abruptly as metal rings around her wrists dug into her pale skin.

Weiss went slack, realization setting in. She breathed deeply, fighting down the barrage of emotions battling their way to the surface. Her eyes opened again, taking in the room around her.

She lay on a metal stretcher, its edges gleaming under the harsh white light mounted on the ceiling. The walls were painted white bricks, the only feature being a steel door in the center of the wall past her bare feet. Weiss turned her head to the side painfully, peering over the edge of the stretcher. The plain concrete sloped downward to a drain in the center of the room. Faint bloodstains surrounded the small metal grate covering the hole.

Her stomach took a plunge, fear starting to invade her thoughts. Her eyes jumped up to a butcher's hook on a chain hanging from the ceiling above the drain. It swayed gently, hypnotizing her.

She let her head fall back onto the metal with a sigh. Her mind raced, trying to figure out how she had gotten here. Last she remembered, they were partying in their dorm room, when Yang had brought out some drinks for them. Weiss remembered her drink tasting funny, but didn't think anything of it at the time.

Her mouth dropped open, disbelief flooding her voice.

"Yang spiked my drink!"

Faster then she could blink, a crack echoed around the room. She tried to double over in pain, but choked on the leather around her neck. Pain shot through her midsection in long stripes.

"What the he—"

She shrieked as a flayed whip snapped across her stomach again. Her dress tore as the sharp leather strips snapped across her. Blood rushed towards the wound, making it feel like it was going to pop. She thrashed against the restraints, blinded by fear.

A chuckle came form behind her, freezing her stiff. He dragged the handle of the whip across her cheek, the rough leather scrapping across her smooth skin. Her heart stopped as he spoke in a deep tone, daring her to try something.

"You speak, I hit you. You struggle, I hit you. You do anything I don't like, I hit you."

"Who do you think you are?" Weiss demanded, furious at her treatment.

The whip snapped her skin again, harder then the last times. He growled in a dangerous tone.

"Don't test me."

Weiss let her breath out in a huff and leaned her head back, trying to catch a glimpse of him. She saw his arm move and flinched, clenching her eyes shut.

He snickered. "Got you trained already, good girl."

Silence filled the room as Weiss tried to calm down. She relaxed her tense muscles, forcing herself to think. Her mind raced, filled with chaotic thoughts, blurry memories coming to the surface. Blake's annoyed face drifted to her out of the fog, her own voice grated against her nerves,

"You can't do that! Do you know who I am? I'm Weiss Schn—"

Her memories stopped at the throbbing pain on her temple. Weiss groaned internally, Blake had knocked her out. She bit her lip, confused as to how she went from annoying Blake to here, in an apparent torture chamber.

Weiss looked around the room again, carefully taking in the details she had missed. The metal door was a brushed metal and had no window, handle or any distinguishing features. A crude wooden bucket sat on the floor, still half filled.

She looked down at herself, her dress was still in one piece, only torn where the whip had snapped her. It was stained with dirt and spots of blood. The previously pristine white of its hem was singed black, the strands of the silk curled and hardened from the heat.

The door creaked open, interrupting her thoughts. It swung into the room swiftly, silhouetting a man in a suit. His shadow fell across the room and the room froze under his ice blue glare. Weiss shivered. She felt the air bite into her, trying to pry away her last vestiges of warmth.

The man stepped into the room, light dimly illuminating his face. Weiss gasped, shock cleaving through her. She remembered, his drawn cheeks, thin cheekbones, and shaven head. His cloths were identical, nothing had changed from all those years ago.

He grinned at her. His teeth shone in the dim light as he flipped a gold watch on a chain around in his gloved hand.

"Long time no see." He leered, "Remember me?"

Weiss's vision went red with rage. Her fists shook as fought against her bonds. She exploded, shouting bloody murder.

"You!" He smiled wider, "You BASTA—"

The whip cracked across her stomach again. Bright lines of blood stained her pale skin.

He put a finger across her lips, silencing her.

"We don't want to have to send you home to daddy in a bag would we?"

Weiss's eye twitched as she glared at him.

"Thought not." He crossed his arms and took a step back. His looked her up and down, disinterested in what he saw.

"It is a pleasure to see you again. Ever since our last..." He gave a pause. "...encounter, I realized I never got to thank you properly for what you did."

Weiss stared at him and dug her fingernails into her palms, drawing blood. Her jaw flexed as she grit her teeth in an attempt to bite back a retort.

He looked her in the eye and bowed slightly to her, a faint smirk pulled at his mouth.

"Thank you, Weiss Schnee, Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, for your help in creating a place for me. Without your help I would still be oblivious to the cause of my brothers." He enunciated slowly, "Because of you, the last obstacle between me and my divine right was removed."

He gestured at the men and room around them,

"Now, I am free to inflict upon this world what it has inflicted upon me and my kind." He frowned slightly. "Sadly, not everyone can survive through the coming storm."

He leaned down, whispering into her ear.

"She died for nothing. She died a traitor to her people, and will forever be remembered as a weakling who listened to the enemy." His hot breath grated across her face. She strained against her bonds to get away from him, suffocating in his presence.

Her eyes widened as he stepped back, a grim smile on his face.

"I wasn't talking about her." He spat the last word. "I was talking about your friend, Blake." His mouth twitched, "She was trying to save you, but she was nothing."

He shook his head, and stepped towards the open door.

"She was very promising before she ran off. In the end she didn't have the strength to do what needed to be done. Didn't stop her from killing those responsible for murdering her parents." He looked at Weiss's shocked face. "She didn't tell any of you anything though."

He snorted.

"Tortured the poor souls to death. Gutted them and hung their entrails from the prison walls. Of course, this was after we found her." He clasped his hands in front of him. "We spent years preparing her for that moment, only to lose her because her morals got in the way." He cocked his head to the side, "Seemed kinda late for those to kick in, as she had already killed."

He clapped his hands together, his lips curling into a grin.

"But, enough of the past. Before I send you home to you father, I thought we should have some fun first."

He turned to a guard.

"Get her up."

He went to the door. Looking over his shoulder, he shot back at her. "I'm sure I will get the pleasure to see you again, Ms. Schnee."

The door banged shut, leaving her alone with three guards. A grunt from behind her sent them into motion. Swiftly they cut the restraints off her, and snapped a pair of handcuffs around one of her wrists. She kicked out, catching one in the gut. He retched and lost his grip on her. The whip cracked down again, drawing blood across her collarbones and chest.

She screamed as she lashed out at the man holding the whip. He stepped back and brought his arm down in a blur. Her head snapped to the side from the force of the whip's handle striking her.

Weiss struggled to stay conscious as they cut her cloths apart. The cold blades made her shiver when they brushed against her skin. They pulled her arms through holes in a large burlap bag they had thrown over her head. Yanking her hands out of a hole cut in the top, they brought her wrists together and clicked on the other end of the handcuffs. Two of them lifted her up and hung the handcuffs from the hook hanging from the ceiling. She dangled above the floor, her toes barely brushing the rough concrete.

Dimly she thought this is how it would all end, tortured to death by a group of brutes just because her father had wronged them. Her mind blanked out as she lost consciousness, letting the comfort of eternity engulf her.

The men clicked off the lights behind them, leaving Weiss in complete darkness.

* * *

Cold. So cold. Darkness all around. It engulfs, surrounds and strangles. The light is nowhere, a void left in its wake. Could this possibly be? No can't be. This couldn't be death, could it?

Panic ripped through her veins, lighting her on fire from the inside. Her fire battled the cold threatening to overtake her, dragging her into the black void from whence she came.

From far away there came a voice, murmuring something she couldn't understand. It slowly got louder and louder, screaming in her head unintelligibly. She screamed back at it, explaining she couldn't understand. It filled her head, making her mind bleed from the crushing volume. Her mind started to crack, her conscious fading under the barrage of noise. She cowered, fighting to keep herself together.

It left as suddenly as it came, leaving her empty as it slowly faded out of her mind. The silence deafened her. Insanity wrapped its tentacles around her mind once again, driving her closer to the edge. She begged the torture to stop, crying out to whoever may be listening.

What did she do to deserve this?

Her thoughts echoed in her skull, driving a spike into her head. She whimpered as her head throbbed. She wanted it to stop, needing it to end.

Again the voice was heard in the distance, mumbling words she didn't know. She screamed as it got louder and louder, closer and closer.

The cycle of silence and crushing loudness continued, dragging her downwards towards the pit of insanity.

Her mind crumbled, resolve worn away over the countless sets of agony. Within her mind, a single grain of hope remained. She clung to the memory of a moment not so long ago, focusing her energy into remembering it, and not loosing it to the torment.

She barely noticed as the silence came again, her tattered mind had closed itself off long ago. The silence stretched on, unease filling her. She mumbled, her voice strange to her,

"Why?"

She jerked, her mind registering something new. Again the pain came, but this was not in her mind. She winced as the open nerve throbbed. Her mind blearily came to, slowly lifting itself out of the corner.

She opened her eyes. Blinking, she tried to comprehend.

She was strapped to a metal gurney that was propped up, holding her in a standing position. The wall in front of her was a mirror, and she could see her reflection looking back at her. Her fiery red hair cascaded around her shoulders, framing her tired green eyes. A thin hospital gown went down to her knees, granting her some modesty. In the reflection she saw a door behind her, a big metal door without a handle or window. Along one of the walls a mattress lay on the floor beside a sink and toilet.

She pulled at her bonds, groaning in pain as her raw skin stung in pain against the leather.

With a crackle of static, the intercom came to life.

"Hold on there miss, you're safe. Please don't struggle, somebody will be along in a minute to explain everything to you. And miss, it's nice to have you back."

She relaxed, lying back against the cool metal. Goosebumps appeared on her skin as the cold metal pressed into her back. She sighed as she closed her eyes, letting the sounds of the world wash over her. A smile tugged at her mouth, relief quelling her pounding head.

The door behind her swung open and a man walked in. He clasped his hands and cleared his throat in front of her.

Her eyes opened and locked onto his icy blue stare. He smiled warmly,

"Glad you're alright. Thought we had lost you there for awhile." He stepped forward, slowly loosening the restraints.

"Now we can get you back into tiptop shape as fast as possible." He raised an eyebrow. "We need you out there you know. This war won't win itself."

Her voice cracked as she spoke past parched lips,

"I will be ready." A thought crossed her mind. "What is my name?"

"Pyrrha Nikos."

She lipped it, trying it out. Pyrrha smiled.

"Fits like a glove."

The last of the restraints fell away, letting Pyrrha fall limply forward. He caught her gently, laughing softly,

"Careful, you need to get your strength back. You've been out of it for a good long while."

"I guess I've got some recovering to do." Pyrrha groaned, feeling the ache of her unused muscles.

He helped her over to the mattress on the floor, gently laying her down. Stroking stray strands of hair out of her face, he comforted her.

"Get some rest. I'll send some people to get this room sorted out." He gestured around at the empty room. Walking to the door he turned to her. "I look forward to having you back Ms. Nikos. You have been sorely missed."

"Wait." Pyrrha called out. "I didn't get your name."

He stood in the doorway, his dark purple suit silhouetted against the lights from the hall. Running a gloved hand across his shaven head he replied.

"Call me Hirsch." He smiled. "Goodnight."

The door swung closed, leaving the room in blackness.

Inside, something tugged at her, but she shoved it away. She ignored the doubt and let out a content sigh as she stretched out on the mattress.

Pyrrha smiled, it was good to be back.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: Melanie Malachite

A Day early, enjoy.

Next Time: The innkeeper, friend or foe?


	10. Chapter 9

"This is truly the end of the world, nothing will survive the inevitable storm of blood. The earth will shatter by the needless violence of the greedy. They are our downfall. They are our demise. The rose that is our heart is all that stands in their path."

Keeper of the Heart, deceased 12 years prior to present.

* * *

The night was cold. A freezing mist drifted on the breeze, illuminated by the yellow glow of streetlamps. The cobbled streets were deserted except for the passing stray cat that dare venture into the night. Nothing broke the spell of silence that lay in the city. Only the crackling of fires consuming the rubble of once proud homes echoed down the streets. Pillars of smoke scarred the sky and blocked out the stars. The shattered moon shone down on the scene, its silver light casting ghostly shadows through the mist.

A sign creaked in the light breeze. Its glossy dark green lettering gleamed in the moonlight.

"Green's Inn"

The windows were dark and the curtains were drawn. Water dripped off the eaves from the mist. The sound of a door opening echoed off the buildings across the square. A figure wrapped in layers of clothing stepped out the door, closing it silently behind them. Long silver hair cascaded down their shoulders as they wrapped a woolen scarf around their neck. A pointed pair of bronze ears twitched against the cold. She sighed and pulled out a gnarled wooden cane. The innkeeper limped down the street, disappearing into the mist.

Blood ran down the drain of a bathtub. Its gleaming white finish was scarred, stained red from rivers of blood. Shards of glass littered the bottom of the tub. A discarded leather duster lay in a heap on the floor. Dark red stains lined the holes punched in the leather. Jagged edges of the ripped leather dripped red onto the tiled floor. The sink was coated with a layer of crimson from an abandoned washcloth, dark red from blood.

Through the door in the bedroom, there was silence. A plush armchair sat by the window. Ren lay slumped in its cushions with Nora sleeping at his feet. Fluffy white towels were wrapped tightly around his chest, acting as makeshift bandages. His face was scrubbed clean from dried blood and his nose was crooked from being broken.

Ren's jacket hung limply over the foot of the bed, dripping blood onto the carpet below. Ruby was curled up tightly in blankets next to her sister. A mane of blonde hair fanned out across the bed, obscuring the stained white sheets beneath her. Yang's back oozed slowly through the towels covering the wounds.

Their weapons lay discarded around the room, propped against the walls and furniture. A large portrait of the shattered moon hung above the bed, keeping watch.

Boot steps echoed down the street outside. A column of figures marched down the street, parting the mist in swirls of motion. Their masks gleamed in the moonlight as they trudged through the deserted streets up to the inn. They fell into a single file line facing the inn. Two figures came to a stop behind the line, one clothed in a long black cloak, the other wrapped in a woolen scarf and leaning on a cane.

"Is this it?" The hooded man asked gruffly.

The woman nodded and pointed to the window above and left of the door,

"That room, there."

He nodded and crossed his arms as he turned to face the inn. The faint sound of an explosion echoed in the distance. The innkeeper jolted and turned to the sound.

"That was probably…" He pulled back his sleeve, revealing a watch. "…the library. Right on schedule." The man nodded under his hood and yanked the Faunus to face him.

She struggled and protested his grip on her arm.

"Stop squirming, grandma." He pointed to the window. "You say they are in there? Four of them?"

She pulled herself out of his grasp and brushed herself off. "Yes. Now if you had been using your ears and not being an idiot, you wouldn't be cowering out here. Two of them were pretty bloody." She pulled her scarf tighter, "I would be surprised if they make it through the night to tell you the truth." She squinted up at the window. "If I didn't know better I would say they attend Beacon. They are the right age, and they had weapons."

The man grunted and turned to face the inn again. Clasping his hands behind his back, he responded. "Students or not, they still broke curfew. From the descriptions you provided I think it reasonable to say they are students. Even if not, you can never be too careful with their sort. So, I won't risk giving them the benefit of the doubt." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a red dust crystal, flipping it over in his hand lazily.

"You would be surprised what those little bastards are capable of. Them and their damn headmaster weren't an easy bunch to take down." He shrugged, "Doesn't matter now. All we have to do is watch out for the stragglers and take them out when they show themselves."

The woman cleared her throat. "I think you still owe me. Before I let you in, I want my pay."

The man scoffed. "I don't mean to be rude, but we won't be going in." He tossed a small card at her feet, "Your money. I think we'll burn the place to the ground and kill anything that survives." He tilted his head upward to the window, "One can never be too careful."

The woman stiffened, eyes narrowing in anger. "I thought we had an agreement, you get who you want. I get paid. You said nothing about burning the place down."

He sighed in irritation. "Plans change." His voice lowered, taking a menacing tone. "Now leave before they change again, and they will not be in your favor."

"You have no right to do this! I protest what you thugs are doing." She turned red from anger and gripped her cane tightly in her hands, "I demand you leave at once!"

He turned to face her, letting his hands fall to his sides.

"What are you going to do? Fight me off with that cane?" He reached into the folds of his cloak, "I think not. Now, I have a very important meeting soon and I simply can't be late. So forgive me if I have to make this quick."

"You will hang for this! I will make you pa—" Her voice cut off as she fell backward to the cobbled street. Blood pooled onto the street as the woman choked to death.

"Such a shame. You probably were able to make beautiful doilies." He shrugged as he put a smoking pistol back into his cloak. Turning away from the corpse of the innkeeper and the bloody rags of her neck, he rubbed his hands together and took a step forward.

He tapped one of the men on the shoulder, motioning behind him at the corpse, "You, chuck that in there." The goon nodded and went to his task.

"Now we can have some fun. Burn it, and shoot anything that comes out." He turned away from the inn and started walking down the street. "Make sure you can see the smoke from the capitol. You don't want to disappoint your boss, now do you?"

The men saluted and turned towards the building, brandishing red dust crystals. Their masks gleamed in the moonlight and illuminated the blood red wolf insignia on their backs.

* * *

_She was there, silhouetted against the twilight sky. The branches of the long dead oak that once stood tall and proud reached its spiny fingers into the sky. Her hair flowed in the cool breeze, ruffling the bow atop her head. The branches swayed under her feet, her legs flexed to keep their balance. The muscles in her arms flexed as she unsheathed her blade slowly. Amber eyes turned to lock onto their prey below, a nefarious smirk worked its way across her face, betraying the glee at the task at hand._

_Boots crunched though dead leaves covering the ground below. She took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air, letting it out slowly. Her arms spread wide to embrace the beauty of the forest. Yang smiled at the darkening sky, savoring every minute of her escape._

_Nothing stirred. All was peaceful, and nothing marred the splendor of the forest._

_Yang stopped suddenly, a shiver going down her spine. Her eyes narrowed, sensing danger closing in. She let her arms fall to her sides, activating Ember Celica. Leaves tumbled across the ground in front of her, revealing pitch black elliptical rocks. She leaned down to get a closer look. The rocks opened, their pupils locking onto Yang. Blood red irises stared into her soul, rooting her to the spot. Yang flinched away in horror. She looked around herself frantically, her breath catching in her throat._

_"What is this!" Her voice echoed flatly in her ears._

_The trees loomed over her, their bony black branches blocking out the sky. The moon nestled in the branches, turning red and dripping blood. The rocks stared her down, filling her with dread. The air went cold, sending daggers through her exposed skin. Frost slithered down her body, freezing her hair stiff. Her breath fogged the air around her._

_Yang brought her arms up, gauntlets ready. She shivered as she tried to steady her breathing._

_Leaves crunched behind her. She twisted around quickly, and screamed in terror._

_Blake towered over her, gleaming teeth stretching from her to ear. Amber eyes blazed down on Yang like searchlights. The skin of her face was stretched over her skull, held in place with glinting silver staples. Black hair shot out of the white bone of her skull, filling the air around her. Blood flowed down her gaunt body, cascading around her like a dress. The blood flowed around her endlessly, moving with her as she drew breath. It formed around her, swirling around in frills of a graceful, strapless dress that draped to the ground around her._

_She clenched a cleaver in her skeletal right hand. The bones of her hand shone though the darkness around them._

_Yang's heart stopped cold. Her screams wedged in her throat as she struggled for breath in the oppressive air._

_Blake raised her cleaver slowly, bringing it above her head. The cold black metal sucked the light towards it. Yang followed its ascent with her eyes, unable to move an inch. Blake's smile widened, flashing a gaping maw behind the teeth._

_The cleaver fell, decapitating Yang in an instant. It carelessly sliced through her neck, sending her head rolling across the rocks. Her face was frozen in shock and terror as she watched Blake descend on her teetering body, ripping the flesh into bloody ribbons._

_Yang watched helplessly as she was devoured. Amber eyes stared into her as blood splattered the rocks. Her mind recoiled, the beast that had taken Blake was slipping, showing the real Blake in the cracks forming. Blake cried out for help, redemption, forgiveness; pouring her being into Yang though one glance. The beast surged over Blake, drowning her in blackness._

_The beast sneered at her and ripped through her torso, shattering her bones to dust._

_Yang's eyes closed, letting the darkness wash over her._

* * *

Yang flew out of bed screaming. She collapsed on the floor, curling into a ball and shielding her head with her arms.

Ruby jolted awake, grabbing for Crescent Rose leaning on the bed stand beside her. Her thoughts cleared and she saw Yang cowering on the floor. Ruby rolled out of bed and embraced her sobbing sister. She stroked her hair gently, comforting her.

"It was just a nightmare. You're fine and I'm here for you."

Yang sniffled, wiping her nose on her arm. She threw her arms around Ruby and buried her face in her shirt. Ruby rubbed her back gently, ignoring the bloodstained towels.

Ren padded over to them, leaning on the foot of the bed. Nora sat up on the floor, wiping sleep out of her eyes.

"Is she okay?" Ren asked quietly, worried for Yang.

Ruby looked up at him and nodded slowly,

"Just a nightmare. She'll be fine." She dropped her gaze back to Yang and added under her breath "I hope."

Ren sighed and sat down on the foot of the bed holding his chest gingerly. He groaned softly and closed his eyes,

"I feel that by the end of this none of us will be immune to their throws." He exhaled sharply, "The question is if you're strong enough to pull through, and face the fears presented in them." He gazed down at Yang's quivering form. "Those fears are out there, and it is not a question of if you will face them, but when."

His fingers dug into the ornate wooden footboard. "When that time comes, nobody can face it for you. Only you can find the strength to stand up to it. Perhaps even conquer it." He smiled sadly at the floor. "For most, the fear is too great, ant it consumes them. Devours them from the inside, leaving only a husk of the former person. This fear spawns paranoia, which leads to anger. Anger to hatred, hatred to agony."

Ruby looked up at him, blankly registering what he said. Ren turned to her and looked her in the eyes,

"This is what drives men to gain more power. Their greed for more only intensifies as their power grows. In turn, they exploit those weaker than them. Take advantage of their ignorance, and force them to ruin." He dropped his eyes to Yang.

"Of course they make excuses. It is always for the greater good, or to benefit some starving family in the favelas. When really they are only helping themselves. We are blind to them most of the time, but as to what has happened..." He gestured around with his arms. "They planned this. They made it happen and wanted it to happen."

"When they gain control over this city, what is next? The country? Continent? World? They will spread like a plague across this world and destroy everything we have built for ourselves. They will discard anything or anyone once they have outlived their usefulness. As long as they profit in the end, they are happy."

He arched his back and stretched out his arms,

"I honestly wouldn't be surprised if major companies were in on it. Big faceless companies will rob you blind without a second thought. Now if they can take everything from you, and then charge you to rebuild it all." He brought his hand to his chin thoughtfully. "They would be putting the shackles of slavery on the entirety of our civilization. They would have total control over everything."

Ren scoffed. "I'm probably over thinking it. All we've seen so far is the White Fang. Who knows, maybe they finally gathered enough force to take over the government." He frowned. "Doesn't seem like their style though. Much too… daring."

Ren crossed his arms, and fell silent. Ruby took a deep breath and gently pushed Yang back, giving her some room. Yang's arms still wrapped around Ruby, but she looked up at her silver eyes,

"Thanks." She laughed softly. "And I'm supposed to be the older sister. Look at me, pathetic."

Ruby smiled at her. "We all have our off days. I'm just glad I've got you for an older sister."

Yang smiled back and sat up, wiping the last tears from her eyes. She looked over at Ren and grimaced. "Guess I woke everybody up, didn't I? Sorry about that."

A beam of light fell across the room from the window. Nora was peeking through the curtains, parting them enough to let in light from the street lights outside.

"Nora! Get away from there, what if somebody sees you?" Ren scolded as he stood and walked over to her.

A gunshot pierced the night air. Ruby and Yang jumped to their feet and ran to the window, peering through the crack beside Ren and Nora. Ruby gawked and Yang blanched.

"Is that…" Nora whispered, staring at the pooling blood around the innkeeper in the street below.

"She sold us out! That bitch!" Yang growled.

"That is the least of our worries right now." Ruby cut in. She watched as the men pulled crystals out of their pouches, "Is that red dust?"

"It would appear so, yes." Ren responded.

"What are they going to do with that?" Nora asked, pulling away from the window to look at her friends. She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"We've gone over this, Nora." Ren sighed, turning away from the window to Nora, "Red is fire."

"What could they be doing with that?"

"Burn stuff, Nora." Yang interrupted.

Ruby turned to her sister, eyes wide.

"You don't think that…"

Yang froze, eyes as big as saucers.

"Oh shit."

The men threw the crystals at the inn, sending fireballs towering into the dark sky.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: Melanie Malachite

**Note:** I apologize for the tardiness of this update. I kept getting errors when trying to access the webpages associated with updating.

Next time: Coincidences happen, sometimes for the best, sometimes for the worst. Allies can be found in the most unexpected places.


	11. Chapter 10

Yang froze, eyes as big as saucers. "Oh shit."

The men threw the crystals at the inn, sending fireballs towering into the dark sky. The walls cracked and the floor groaned in the force of the explosion. The lamps tumbled to the floor, shattering into fragments of pottery. The bureau toppled over, its drawers flying out.

Ren, Nora, Ruby, and Yang dove for their weapons, scattered around the room, before they were lost in the rubble. Smoke permeated the air, making them cough and their eyes to water.

Nora grabbed Magnhild from the floor and looked over to Ren. He kicked over the armchair by the window, sending it spinning into the wall. He grimaced as he leaned over to pick his guns off the carpet. Nora helped him into his stained tunic and threw her arm around him, leading him out the door and into the hall. Smoke drifted up the stairway in clouds of heat. They shielded themselves with their arms and limped towards the ascending stairway.

Yang looked around frantically for her gauntlets. She started to panic, running around the room frantically.

"Yang!" Ruby motioned to the bathroom urgently, "They're in there!"

Yang nodded and sprinted into the bathroom. She scooped her gauntlets off the tiled floor and threw her tattered leather duster over her shoulders. It crinkled in her grip from the dried blood soaking it. She ran back into the bedroom, looking around for her friends.

"Lets Go!" Ruby yelled from the doorway, compacted Crescent Rose in hand. Ruby coughed as she followed her sister out the door. Her lungs burned in agony from the smoke. She pointed down the hall towards Ren, Nora, and the stairs. "Up the stairs!"

Nora yanked Ren up the stairs to the third floor. The landing was surrounded by a wooden banister separating them from a lavishly decorated living room. Thick carpets covered the floor and stretched under overstuffed couches. Ornate wooden tables accompanied the couches, supporting more ceramic lamps. Windows overlooking the street below were covered by curtains, drawn shut against the night. A wooden door sat hidden in the back corner of the room.

"There!" Ren pointed to the door, pulling Nora with him as he walked towards it. They dodged around the sofas and trinkets, oblivious to the heat radiating from the floors below.

Yang and Ruby thundered up the stairs behind them, coughing on the smoke. Ruby rubbed her eyes and squinted around the room. Yang pulled Ruby forward by her arm, tugging the torn skin apart. Ruby gasped in pain and fresh blood ran down her arm.

"It's locked!" Nora yelled at them, desperately yanking the handle.

Ren rested on the door frame and grabbed her shoulder. "You've got a hammer don't you?"

Nora's mouth formed a perfect 'o'. "Oh. Yeah. Forgot about that." She shifted Magnhild into a hammer and struck a heroic pose. "Stand clear peasant. I will deal with this annoyance."

Ren shook his head. "Dumb silly idiot."

Nora wound back and swung forward in a blur of hammer-ific death. Shards of wood flew everywhere as it shattered inwards. The walls cracked and door frame fell to pieces. She tumbled through the doorway and rolled into a crouch as the shards fell around her.

Ren whistled in mock amazement as he stumbled through behind her. Nora stood and faced him, beaming as she rocked on her feet.

"Slightly dramatic don't you think?" Ren asked, raising one eyebrow.

Nora shook her head. "No such thing."

Ren brushed a hair out of his face. "Looks like you managed to destroy the innkeeper's bedroom." He examined the splinters sticking out of the walls and furniture. "Congratulations."

Nora sat at the foot of the bed with a huff. "I didn't see you breaking out your hammer to break down the door." She brought a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Oh wait. All you've got are those tiny little green guns." She emphasized tiny with her fingers, holding them mere inches apart in front of her eyes.

Ren growled at her and put his hands on his hips. "At least I'm not overcompensating."

Nora flinched in mock hurt, clutching her heart. "You wound me." She looked down at her chest. "I think you've got me wrong, sir," She grinned up at him. "If I'm overcompensating, what would it be for? I've got these." She grabbed her chest and pushed them up at him.

Ren blushed and turned away, stumbling for words. "You win this round, Valkyrie." He spat before muttering under his breath. "They're not tiny."

"You just got burned." Yang gloated, smirking.

Ren scowled at her. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough." Yang responded, grinning crazily, "Did you really think it a good idea to pull that on a girl? One with no sense of shame to be exact?"

Ruby sent him a sympathetic look and glanced around the room.

Ren sighed and turned away, pulling his hair out.

"Women." He muttered.

"You do remember we are in a burning building, right?" Nora piped up from the bed.

"Very observant, Nora." Ren grumbled. "Got any ideas?" He asked the sisters.

"Well, since Nora decided to destroy the door. It appears we are going to be smoked before we have the privilege of burning to death." Yang complained. She prodded her sister, "What was your plan, fearless leader?"

Ruby yelped and jumped away, rubbing her side. She glowered at Yang before gesturing towards the windows stretching from floor to ceiling at the back of the room.

"Those windows should overlook the back alley. I was hoping there would be an easy way to get down, but ah…" She looked around the room, "Nothing seems like it could help."

"So jump and hope you don't break your legs in other words." Yang said flatly, staring at her sister.

Ruby shrugged. "It's not like we could have gone out the front door!" She pointed to the floor, "If you didn't notice, it's on fire."

Nora looked from one to the other from the bed. She jumped when a window shattered. She and the sisters turned to Ren as he leaned out the window, peering into the alley below.

"Ren, be careful. You're in no state to fall." Nora cautioned as she stood up and walked towards him.

Ren glanced over to her and smiled. "I will." His hands slipped on the window frame and he started to fall. He let out a surprised gasp.

"Ren!" Nora jumped for him, trying to grab his flailing limbs as he tumbled out the window.

The air was knocked out of her as she fell on her stomach just short of the broken window. She pulled herself through the splintered glass and looked into the alley below.

"Ren!" She screamed, frantically looking for his broken body bleeding on the ground below.

"I'm right here Nora." Ren leaned on a stone railing of the balcony directly below her. He held his chest wincing as he tried to slow his breathing.

Nora pushed herself off the floor and dropped down next to Ren. She grabbed his ear, yanked him closer and glared at him. "Don't scare me like that."

"I'm okay Nora, really." Ren murmured, blinking.

Nora blinked back tears and crushed him in her arms. Ren smiled and rubbed her back, comforting her.

"Did you find a way down?" Yang called down from the window.

Ren looked up at her and Ruby peering down at them. "Yeah. Just don't land on the banister like I did."

Yang dropped down followed by Ruby. She took a deep breath of the brisk night air and let it out slowly.

"You guys ready?" Ruby asked. "We need to get out of here."

Ren nodded and broke away from Nora, smiling at her slightly.

They eased their way down the last drop to the ground below and took off down the alley through the mist. The miles passed in a blur of hiding and running. Dashing behind dumpsters to escape the searchlights of passing airjets and sprinting across streets between columns of marching soldiers.

The moon fell low in the sky and the eastern horizon glowed with the light of the coming day. Pillars of smoke blotted the grey sky.

Ren crashed into a grimy brick wall beside an overflowing dumpster. He panted, gasping for breath with a desperate passion. "That was too close. They almost saw us that time." He wheezed out between pants.

Ruby doubled over next to him, resting her hands on her knees. "It's not like we are in good shape right now." She coughed. "We've been lucky so far, but if we keep this up they will catch us eventually."

Nora crossed her arms and frowned. "We don't exactly have somewhere to go."

Ruby looked from her to the ground, downcast. Silence fell over the group as they contemplated their predicament.

Yang winced as she rolled her shoulders, fresh blood staining her duster.

"Do you think the police would help?" Ruby asked.

Ren straightened and looked around at them. "Since we've been running I've seen no form of law enforcement." He ran a hand through his unkempt hair. "It seems like whatever happened overwhelmed the authorities quickly. Took them by surprise even."

Yang nodded in agreement. "We know the white fang are behind this." She gestured over her shoulder. "They were the ones that were at the crash."

Nora looked around at them, worry lining her face. "Then what do we do?" She asked.

They fell silent again as an uncomfortable blanket fell over them. Ruby looked up at the sky and sighed, closing her eyes.

Yang slumped against the wall, sliding down it carelessly. Her emotions caught up to her and she buried her face in her hands. Not a single tear fell from her eyes. Only the darkness of despair and loss gripped her. She thought of Blake. Her chest felt empty at her sudden departure, if it could even be called that.

'How could I have not seen the signs that something was wrong? Did she snap because of what I did? How could I let that happen to her? It's my fault that she is gone. She may even be dead because of me.'

Yang dug her fingernails into her face, trying to dull the torrent of pain swirling around inside her head. The memory of her nightmare speared its way into her thoughts. Blake's look of terror and helplessness haunted her.

'Nothing about what is happening is right. We should all be back at Beacon right now, worrying about what we're going to do over break. Not running for our lives from terrorists. Or loosing our friends to them.'

Yang yanked at her hair in frustration. She was helpless to do anything and it infuriated her. Lilac eyes glowed red at thought of revenge for her pain. A dastardly grin spread across her face.

'I will enjoy making those who did this suffer.' She clenched her fists. 'I will not rest until each has been brought to justice for their crimes.'

She looked up at Ruby, staring into the sky. Her silver eyes were glazed with exhaustion. They were dull from the suffering happening all around them. Yang's face tightened in anger as she muttered.

"They will pay."

Ruby snapped out of it and glanced over at Yang worriedly. "You okay sis?"

Yang stood up slowly and smiled weakly at her. "As much as I can be."

A crash from down the alley snapped them out of the reprieve. They turned to look at each other as sounds of a struggle echoed down to them. A small explosion lit up the brick walls of the alley.

Yang cocked her gauntlets, ignoring the fact that she had no ammo. She nodded to Ruby.

"Let's go." Ruby turned and took off towards the struggle.

Nora followed with Ren, matching the sisters' pace.

They turned a corner and skidded to a halt.

Four thugs with various improvised melee weapons surrounded a crumpled form on the ground. She whimpered and sobbed for mercy as they wailed on her.

"Hey you!" Ruby shouted at them, "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

The thugs spun around to face them. The leader smirked at them and hit his bat against his palm.

"I'll say. Another ragamuffin with nowhere to go." He grinned. "That only works if you're bigger. And if my eyes don't deceive me..." He raised an eyebrow. "You are a pipsqueak. A girl at that."

"Shut up! Grow a pair and take us on!" Yang shouted, her eyes tinged red.

"Take 'em. Try to keep them alive for the bounty, or it'll be your head." He motioned to his goons.

They rushed forward in a flurry of aggression.

Ruby swung Crescent Rose around in an ark, shifting it into her glinting scythe. She dashed forward to meet them followed by a burning Yang and scowling Nora, wielding her hammer.

Yang sped towards a goon and swung her fist in a wide hook. The goon raised his bat to block the blow. Yang's gauntlet shattered through the wooden bat, sending splinters flying everywhere. The goon gasped in surprise before the fist connected with his cheek, sending him crumpling to the ground. She looked around, catching sight of Nora standing on another goon's neck as he struggled to free himself. Nora swung her hammer back to nail him in the head. His eyes widened comically as her hammer glinted red from dried blood. She knocked him unconscious and stepped off his neck.

Yang sent her a thumbs up and she saluted back.

Ruby dodged around a thug's clumsy blow and brought her scythe down on his head. He was thrown into the ground face first, sliding to a stop several meters away. Ruby smirked and turned to the leader.

He gazed at her impassively as she stalked towards him. His hands tightened on the bat as he scowled at her. Ruby grinned, her teeth glinting in the dawn's light. She raised her scythe to face him, taking aim with her rifle. Her finger tightened on the trigger.

"Ruby! Don't!" Ren shouted from behind her.

"Say goodnight." Ruby growled.

She pulled the trigger and he fell back in a splash of crimson. Smoke wisped from the end of her scythe as the gunshot cut through the morning. Nothing moved for the merest of seconds as they looked at Ruby in horror.

The man screamed and clutched the remnants of his left foot. Blood dripped onto the ground below, pooling on the dirt.

"You bitch! You shot me!" He yelled as she walked towards him, scythe over her shoulder.

His rant was cut short when Ruby kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Ruby folded her scythe and turned to look at her companions. They stared at her, Yang's mouth slightly open.

"What?" Ruby asked.

Yang stuttered,

"W-we thought you had um…" Her eyes flicked to the wounded man. "…killed him."

Ruby took a step back and brought her hands up in front of her, waving them back and forth.

"I kill Grimm. Not people."

Yang shook her head and looked at Nora, still trying to wipe the shock off her face.

"Hey, if I can have your attention for one moment..." Ren called from beside the victim laying on the ground.

They turned to face him.

"I think she went to Beacon." He pointed to her tattered uniform, partially hidden by an unzipped hoodie. Her face was hidden behind her hands as she shook in fear.

"It's okay. They won't be bothering you again." Ruby soothed as she crouched beside Ren.

She peeked out between her fingers and passed out. Her hood slid off her head, freeing rabbit ears. They uncurled and lay limply against the top of her head.

"Velvet?" Ruby gasped, recoiling backwards and landing on her rear.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: Melanie Malachite

Next time: Weiss makes a break for it.


	12. Chapter 11, Keeper

"Evil is a perspective. Nothing is good and nothing is evil. Man makes it a reality in his mind, forcing his way on others by use of force. When these perspectives clash there will be conflict and bloodshed. The great wars of eons past have repeatedly shown that good always wins. Never once has evil prevailed for more then a short while. The victor writes history, and the wise will always write themselves as the hero. Perspective is key, and by conquering it, we shed the shackles that bind our race. Without the burden of perspective, all is clear and nothing is impossible."

- Keeper of the Soul, four years prior to present.

* * *

_Snow flew horizontally and stung her exposed cheeks. The blizzard screamed around her as she trudged towards home. She reached up and pulled her white scarf tighter around her neck._

_Of all the days here they had to forget about her, it had to be today. She shoved her hands in her pockets and squinted through the flurry of snow for the light of the streetlamps. Her feet carried her along the street away from town._

_She scowled, her parents had promised to be there. They had not been in the audience because they always sat in front, right where she could see them. She was disappointed they hadn't been there to listen to her performance. All her practicing had been for nothing._

_If they couldn't make it they still should have sent a car for her. Yet here she was, walking home in the middle of winter during a blizzard._

_The gates of her home appeared in front of her. The great wrought iron bars swooped gracefully around the snowflake insignia set in the center. She pushed them open and trudged up her driveway past the skeletons of trees that had long since lost their leaves._

_A black car sat under the covering over the front door. Stone pillars held up the arches of the roof, being buried in snow._

_She frowned, the car was unfamiliar and the tire tracks in the snow were recent._

_Weiss peered through the windows as she passed by on her way towards the door. Everything seemed to be in order, the lamps were lit and there was a fire in the fireplace. She grasped the ornate metal handle and pushed the door open, letting in a flurry of snowflakes._

_The mansion she called home greeted her back. Warmth flowed towards her from merrily crackling flames. Shadows flicked across the snowflake wallpaper._

_Weiss kicked off her shoes and walked towards the kitchen, looking for something to warm her. She loosened her scarf and shook her hair free of the snow. Her eyes skipped over the plush armchairs and expensive trinkets decorating the rooms._

_She stopped, ears perked. The sound of arguing drifted around the corner to her. It sounded like her father, except was he pleading? Weiss frowned, her father would never demean himself like that._

_"Please, take me instead. Just let her live. Please!" His voice carried to her._

_A crack followed by a thump came from the next room._

_"What a fool." Weiss heard an unfamiliar voice sneer._

_Muffled screams of a woman came next, rooting Weiss to the spot. Panic smothered her, numbing her mind and filling her with fear. She fought to walk around the corner and help but she couldn't move._

_Another thump as a body fell to the floor._

_"You do what I say Schnee. Otherwise bad things happen. Ignore me again and your daughter is next."_

_Footsteps came around the corner towards her. The man towered over her, his face shadowed in the firelight. His shaven head and icy eyes glinted as he pushed his way past Weiss. He looked over his shoulder at her as he left, grinning._

_Weiss rushed to her parents, finding her father beaten and mother dead. Since then he had been cold, broken, uncaring. It was that day that her childhood ended and the nightmare that was her life began. Weiss was twelve years old._

* * *

Weiss awoke to the sound of nothing. The room was dark enough to make her doubt if her eyes were even open. Her arms were numb and her shoulders ached from supporting her weight for who knows how long.

A groan escaped her lips as she stretched her toes down to brush the floor. "Not a dream after all." She whispered.

Her head dropped to her chest, the scratchy burlap itching her chin. There she remained for an eternity, her mind wandering.

One thing irked her. Him. His most minor deed or action sent waves through Vale. Those who were on his good side found themselves much like her family had; wealthy and empowered. Little did they know that he stood on their necks, keeping them on a leash. While those who witnessed his wrath fared quite differently. They disappeared for no reason in the middle of the night, only to be found days later in various states of dismemberment.

In the criminal world he was feared. His wrath avoided at all costs. To the public, he was only known as a shadow. His picture never appeared, only the corpses linked by the same style of torture before eventual murder.

Weiss slapped herself mentally, how had she not connected the dots before?

Her stomach seethed in anger. He was responsible for tearing her family apart. Depriving her of a normal childhood and a mother. All her suffering was because of him. He had killed her to put the leash on her father. It was he who had been in control the whole time.

She dug her fingernails into her palms. Now she was going to be used as leverage. Nothing was different then before.

She was going to die here and end up on her father's doorstep, mangled and lifeless. The worst part was her helplessness, there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her father would be forced to his knees once more. In the end it wouldn't matter, as she was never going to be returned in one piece. No matter what Hirsch promised, he would rather kill her, just to spite her father.

Weiss opened her eyes, icy blue eyes glinting like flint in the moonlight.

"He's a dead man." Her eyes exploded with light. The room lit up as if it was being struck by lighting. Weiss's aura froze the air, coating the floor in snow and covering the walls in ice. The chains cracked and flaked away in brittle chunks as she froze them solid. Her body shimmered with power as she floated to the floor, her bare feet lightly sinking into the snow. Her pale white hair pulsed around her, flowing with energy.

Her mind was focused, one goal in mind. She had to kill him. Nothing else mattered.

The air crackled around her as she walked to the door and placed her hand on it. The door creaked and cracked as around her fingers it changed to ice.

She smiled slightly and pulsed aura out her fingertips. The door exploded into the hall in a shower of ice. Broken shards crunched under her feet as she stepped through. She glanced both ways, nothing indicating where she was. The walls were bare concrete bricks and lights hung from the ceiling. Doors lined the walls, each the same as hers, closed and locked.

Footsteps approached from down the hall. Several guards turned the corner and sprinted at her.

Weiss raised her hands and they fell to the floor, shattering into shards of frozen flesh. She stepped over the chunks and turned the corner, the lights exploding above her as she passed. Snow fell around her, frozen from the moisture in the air.

Red lights flashed and a siren screamed. Weiss kept walking, ignoring the men converging on her. She was focused, one thing to accomplish. He had to die. Her fists clenched in rage as she remembered his heinous crimes against her family. Nothing would stop her.

More soldiers came from down the hallways at her. White aura slithered out to meet them, freezing them solid, looks of terror etched into the faces. Weiss let her feet take her, leading her to him.

Fatigue pulled at her and dragged at her limbs. She shook her head, fighting it with everything she had. She walked through the halls, leaving footsteps in the snow behind her.

Weiss stopped, confusion bringing her to a standstill.

"Pyrrha?"

The warrior stood facing her, shield and spear in hand, held loosely at her sides. Her gleaming golden armor frosted from the cold and her breath fogged.

Pyrrha's face twitched and she shifted her weight from one foot to another.

"Yeah, it's me." She spoke slowly.

"What are you doing here?" Weiss approached her, the white aura around her fading a bit.

"Funny you ask that." Weiss stopped one pace in front of her as she spoke. "I'm here for you."

Weiss's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "A rescue?"

Pyrrha smiled and spun her spear in her hand. "Sure, whatever."

Weiss took a step back. "I'm sorry but I can't leave. There is a matter I have to attend to." Her face tightened and her eyes narrowed to slits.

"To kill me? I don't think that is very polite of our guest, don't you agree Pyrrha?" Hirsch scoffed from behind Weiss.

She spun around to face him, rage blinding her. White aura seeped back into the air around her, weaving into spears of energy.

Hirsh frowned at her and slowly pulled at the fingers of one of his white gloves.

"It is rare to find a person with their aura unlocked. Even less so to find one with control over it in any sense." His glove came loose and he slowly pulled it off. "This however, is exceedingly rare. Only four are known to have this kind of power." He looked her up and down. Her skin shone with white light and her eyes glowed icy cold.

He smiled as he rubbed the skin on the back of his hand, dropping the glove into his suit pocket. "Five now, I guess."

"You will die for what you did to my family." Weiss snarled. "For you, mother." She whispered as she launched deadly spears of energy at Hirsch. He watched impassively as they sped towards him, threatening to rip through him. Hirsch raised his hand. His eyes darkened to glowing orbs of black obsidian. Blank pupils opened and sucked in the light, bending the world towards the void behind his eyes.

The spears bent towards his palm, shooting towards the swirling black emptiness hovering between his outstretched fingers. They sunk into the darkness, bleeding away to nothing as they were devoured.

Hirsh closed his fist and the energy was gone. He smirked at Weiss.

"What?" Weiss stuttered. "That's impossible!" She pointed at him and screamed. "What are you!?"

Hirsh raised an eyebrow as he blinked his eyes back to normal. "Things are different now Ms. Schnee. You're one of us. A keeper." He glanced around at the snow and ice. "Of ice."

Weiss gaped at him. He flicked snow off his suit and crossed his arms.

"I grow tired of this, Pyrrha?" He looked over Weiss's shoulder. "If you would please."

Weiss turned around just in time to see the red and gold spear blur towards her, hitting her temple. She fell to the floor in a heap, unconscious. A trickle of blood ran down the side of her face, staining the snow red.

Hirsch reached in his pocket and pulled out his glove, wiggling his fingers into it. He scrutinized Weiss's form curled in the melting snow.

"Hirsh, do you really think that she is…" Pyrrha asked softly.

He looked up at her grimly. "There is no doubt. There can be no other explanation."

"What are you going to do?" She whispered.

"Break her." He stated simply as he turned to walk away.

Pyrrha looked down at her limp form and almost felt sorry. Almost. She rolled Weiss over with her foot, staring at her face.

She crouched down and traced her finger along the scar over Weiss's left eye. Her brows furrowed. "I feel like I know you, and yet I don't." She muttered under her breath.

Pyrrha shrugged and stood up. "Gah! This is going to be such a mess to clean when it all melts." She turned away as soldiers rolled a gurney around the corner towards Weiss.

She scoffed. "Not considering the men she froze to pieces." A smile graced her lips, she was happy she wasn't in charge of cleaning.

Behind her the men strapped Weiss's limp form to the metal, tightening leather straps around her limbs and neck. A tear rolled down her cheek, joining the drops of blood from her temple.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: Melanie Malachite

Next time: Velvet's secret construct under the streets of Vale. Their saving grace or crouching tiger?


	13. Chapter 12

Yang flicked her hair over her shoulder and turned to look down a grimy back alley. The morning sun cast shadows across the brick walls around them. Fluffy white clouds drifted through the sky and floated around smoke rising from the city. Golden sunlight warmed her face as the sun rose above the rooftops.

She turned back to face Nora, keeping watch in the other direction.

"You think she's going to be okay?"

Nora's face was lined and there were dark bags under her eyes from exhaustion.

"I hope so. She was taking a beating before we got to her." Nora rubbed her arms and shivered. "Those thugs got what they deserved." She smiled as she remembered throwing their unconscious bodies into the sewer from a manhole. It had been very satisfying to hear the splashes when they reached the bottom.

Yang scowled. "I hate people like them."

Nora nodded and glanced both ways down the alley. "Think she's awake yet?"

Yang leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "I'm sure Ruby and Ren are doing all they can. They know we can't stay here."

"Yang! Nora!" Ruby called from behind them. "She's awake!"

"Keep your voice down." Ren hissed, slightly annoyed.

Yang and Nora walked over to where Velvet was propped against a wall, Ren and Ruby crouched on either side of her. She looked around at them with wide eyes as she struggled to draw breath.

"Take it easy, you've got some broken ribs." Ren spoke softly. He was finishing off a sling around her left arm, fashioned from one of the goons' coats.

Velvet looked around at them and smiled weakly. "I'm glad to see that I wasn't the only one who made it out."

Ruby put her hand on Velvet's shoulder reassuringly. "There have to be more out there." She smiled weakly. "We just have to find them."

"Ruby, we need to find shelter. We'll be seen if we stay out in the daylight." Yang prompted. She looked around tensely, her senses on high alert.

Ruby nodded at her sister and looked to Velvet. "Can you walk?"

Velvet winced as she stood up slowly, taking Ren's arm for support. "Yes."

"Know of any place we can crash for awhile?" Yang asked.

Velvet thought for a moment and then perked up, her eyebrows rising slightly. "We could try the sewers. They are often overlooked during this kind of thing."

Ruby tugged at her hair with a thoughtful look. "We need supplies too." She looked at Ren. "Medical supplies specifically."

"Food too." Nora piped up as her stomach rumbled.

"Yeah, I doubt we'll find any of that in the sewers." Yang thought. "Any place else?" She looked around the group.

They shook their heads except Velvet. She glanced around uncomfortably and her ears twitched.

"I um," She paused as they looked at her in surprise. "I have a certain familiarity with the sewers. I've spent some time down there and as a result have stockpiled some things. One could say it is a home away from home."

Nora's face exploded in excitement. "It's a super secret hideout! Like in all the spy movies! I bet it has turrets and computers and all sorts of super awesome spy stuff!" She vibrated in excitement and her arms shook in front of her. "It's perfect!"

Ren frowned at Nora slightly before nudging Velvet. "If you would be willing to take us there, we will do whatever we need to repay the debt."

Velvet blushed slightly at Nora's antics. "It's not an issue. We need someplace to—" She smiled slightly at Yang. "—crash, as Yang put it."

"Sounds like a plan. Is it far from here?" Ruby asked.

Velvet shook her head. "No, I was on my way there before those men started after me." She looked at the ground, abashed. "Thanks by the way. I was in a whole heap of trouble before you showed up."

"Think nothing of it. You needed help. We'd do the same for anybody." Yang rolled her shoulders, stretching her arms to relieve the tension building up.

"We need to get going." Ren repeated, looking at the lightening sky worriedly.

"Follow me, there's an entrance not far from here." Velvet started down the alley, limping slightly.

They followed in silence, keeping alert for any sign of approaching danger. Their footsteps bounced off the walls around them as they reached a dead end at the back of an apartment building. The metal fire escape creaked above their heads as an airjet flew over, barely clearing the tall complex.

"This is the place." Velvet pointed with her free arm at a manhole covered in grime and garbage. She kicked rusty cans off the cover and bent down to pop the handles up. Her fingers bushed dirt away from the wire handles and pulled them up.

She stood and looked around at them. "If somebody could lift it…"

Yang stepped forward and worked her hands under the wire handles. She heaved upwards and slid the circular cover to the side, revealing a ladder descending into darkness. She peered into the hole. "How far down is it?"

"Not too far, it is just below street level." Velvet responded.

Yang shivered and started down the ladder. "I hope there aren't any rats."

Velvet grinned. "Only small ones."

"What was that?" Yang called from the darkness.

"Nothing!" Velvet covered her mouth and bit back laughter.

Ruby snickered and followed her sister.

Ren motioned for Nora to follow and moved over to Velvet's side. "I'll go last."

Velvet sent him a questioning glance and raised an eyebrow.

Ren shrugged and explained. "Someone needs to close it behind us and you've only got one good arm."

"Whatever. I could have managed." Velvet retorted. She grabbed hold of the ladder and descended into the darkness.

Ren took one last glance around to make sure they weren't being followed and dropped into the sewers, pulling the metal cover shut behind him.

Yang looked around, cradling a small golden flame in her hands. The circular tunnels dripped with moisture and the bricks were coated in green moss. A small trickle of water flowed down the tunnel, disappearing into the darkness.

Golden light flickered on the walls and cast shadows down the tunnel.

"Well, this is about as much fun as I thought it would be." Yang said as she crinkled her nose.

"At least there aren't any rats." Ruby muttered as she looked around.

"This way." Velvet called over her shoulder as she walked down the tunnel.

They splashed through the water behind Velvet, quickly getting turned around and confused by the twisting corridors and seemingly random turns. Yang followed behind Velvet, trying to light the way forward with her aura powered flame.

"So… Why do you know so much about the sewers?" Yang asked, breaking the silence.

"Well…" Velvet paused. "When I was younger I lived in the city, and I liked to explore. One day I was curious what lay below the streets and so, as any kid would I promptly got lost down here in the dark."

"That must have been scary." Ruby commented.

"It was. But it only led to me coming down here more and more often as I got older. Eventually it became a safe haven for me from the world above. Down here, I could be alone and be myself. I didn't have to fear that I would be discriminated against because of my heritage."

"Whenever things got bad up there I came down here to remember that I was a person. That no matter what they said or did, it wasn't true and it shouldn't affect me." She smiled slightly. "Seems kinda strange, but this is where I go to find myself."

Yang nodded sadly. "It's terrible what Faunus go through."

Velvet nodded and fell silent, continuing down the twisting maze of tunnels.

"What about Cardin? Did he ever stop bothering you?" Ren asked from the back of their line.

"No. He didn't. I got used to it though. He wasn't nearly as bad as some of the others I've had to put up with."

"Why didn't you stand up to him?" Ruby asked.

"Put a stop to his bullying." Yang added angrily, her aura flame flashing brighter.

Velvet's ears drooped. "I've tried doing that in the past, and all it did was get me in trouble." She paused and took a breath. "I was in basic hunter's school at the time, and there was this one group of boys that threatened to cut off my ears. Every day I went to school they threatened to do it. They even got as far as attacking me outside school. I tried to ignore it, but eventually they decided to go through with their threat. I defended myself and in the process injured one of them pretty badly. His family were infuriated to say the least, and they were going to sue the school for what happened."

"So, the school threw me out to rid themselves of the problem."

"Those bastards! You were only defending yourself. It was the bullies that should have been expelled." Yang growled angrily.

"That wasn't the end of it. After I was thrown out, the family couldn't sue the school anymore. So they settled on going after my family instead."

"What!" Ruby gasped, stopping in her tracks. "You mean they tried to sue your family?"

"No. That would have been much more preferable to what they did. They hired some mercenaries to burn down my house and teach my folks a lesson." Velvet whipped away a tear with her hand. "It got out of hand, and in the process they killed my dad."

Screams echoed through her mind. Flames crackled and smoke stung her lungs.

"The police did all they could, but as we were a Faunus family they didn't put much priority on the case. They simply swept it under the rug and continued on like nothing had happened."

"I'm sorry Velvet, I had no idea." Yang whispered.

Velvet brushed it away with her arm. "It was a long time ago. But since then, my mother and I have barely gotten by. It took years of saving to get me into Beacon." She frowned. "Now it seems like that was all for naught. With whatever is going on, I doubt Beacon will be accepting students again anytime soon."

"It may blow over tomorrow for all we know." Ruby added optimistically.

"Unlikely, whoever is behind this had the power to completely topple the government in one night. They probably were preparing for this day for years." Ren cut in, shooting down Ruby's optimism.

Ruby's face drooped and she let her head fall, dropping the conversation.

Yang frowned and bit back her anger. It would do her no good to vent on Ren, no, her anger was being saved for the ones that did this. Her chest throbbed as she remembered the hole left by Blake.

She clenched her fists. 'I will find you Blake. I will make this right.'

Ren shivered as he remembered the man who abducted his teammates. Anger swelled as he remembered how easily they had been taken. They were gone, and it was his job to get them back.

'We won't be broken up so easily.' He thought as he ran into Ruby, bumping her into Yang.

"We're here." Velvet interrupted his thoughts stopping as they came to a large chamber.

"This. Is. Awesome!" Nora hopped up and down in excitement. Ruby's mouth dropped open and Velvet blushed.

The room opened up in front of them, various tunnels feeding into it, adding to the torrent of water pouring down the center of the room. Wooden bridges, built from scrap, connected raised platforms around the walls. Metal railings around the platforms were used as supports for walls made out of sheets of wood. A retractable ladder dropped down from the nearest platform, leading into the small structure in the underground chamber. The high ceiling dripped water to the brick floor below. Fixtures on the walls illuminated the room dimly in yellow light.

"Wow." Yang muttered, amazed at the construction.

"This is impressive." Ren looked around at the bridges and rooms. "Must have taken a long time to build all of this alone."

"It's really nothing." Velvet stammered, turning away towards the ladder. "The way up is over here."

She climbed up the damp ladder and pushed aside a tarp covering the entrance. Nora clambered up after her, excitedly following her into the small room.

"After you, sis." Yang smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Yang…" Ruby wined before climbing her way up.

Yang took hold of the ladder and started climbing just as a black shape scuttled along the floor below her, it's naked tail dragging behind it.

She screamed and flew up the rest of the ladder, disappearing behind the tarp. The rat scampered off as her screech echoed down the tunnels, dissipating into nothing.

* * *

A man sat in his chambers alone, cloaked in darkness. He lay in his bed in solitude, only his thoughts keeping him company.

This didn't bother the man, as he had lived this way for decades. This is how he thought, how he operated. This is where he pondered the world and it's many trivialities.

For years he had considered the idea of ruling it all. His experiments of thought failed each and every time, every plan ending in failure. It was after all other options were exhausted when he turned to destruction. Four years ago he began, and today the careful thought and planning finally became a reality. His forces had struck with deadly force in all the right places and the city had crumpled like a house of cards.

One thing remained in his path. The Keepers. They alone had the power to stop this and he did not plan on that happening. He had accounted for them but there was a certain unpredictable nature about them.

His eye twitched as he remembered the late messenger that had brought him the news of another Keeper emerging. He had been loyally serving him for years, but this had not stopped the terrible fit of rage that smothered his life in an instant.

He felt no guilt. After all, it was all perspective.

His arm reached out and pressed a button on his bedside. A dim light came on and a crackle of static came from the other end.

He spoke in a low, quiet voice, each word enunciated carefully and precisely. "Send word to the Keeper of the Night, all is going according to plan."

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: Melanie Malachite

**Note:** Unless something bizarre happens and I find more free time, one week from today I will run out of chapters to post. This will cause future updates to become sporadic. To clear it up now, this story will be completed. The question is not if, but when. Worst case estimate? Summer, because right now it's looking pretty bleak for any hope of extra time in the foreseeable future. However, I do hope to post new chapters when I get the chance, so it won't be a complete blackout.

Next time: 'Friendly' banter between rivals. What rivals? That is for me to know, and you to find out.


	14. Chapter 13

"The man who would call him self god is an abomination of this world. He has no heart, no soul. He is lost to greed and murder. The lust for power has consumed him."

- Keeper of the Heart, deceased 12 years prior.

* * *

Pyrrha looked at her reflection in the mirror. Not a strand of her crimson hair was out of place and her eyes were as sharp as flint. Emerald eyes gleamed back at her, almost daring her to attack. She sighed and straightened her golden chest plate, making sure it was perfect.

Her reflection gazed back at her, trapped within the mirror. The reflection turned to sorrow and grief, for being discarded and forgotten.

She barred her canines and glared at her reflection, smiling as it faded away.

"Ready?" Hirsch called from the doorway, holding it open. "We need to get going, the meeting is soon."

Pyrrha took one more look at the mirror and turned to face him, smiling. "Ready." She clicked the lights off behind her and followed Hirsch down the hall towards the elevators.

"So, is this about the heiress?" Pyrrha asked.

Hirsch shrugged. "That, and our associates had already called a meeting."

Pyrrha nodded and crossed her arms behind her back as they waited for an elevator. The heavy grey doors opened and they boarded.

Hirsch turned to Pyrrha and pressed the elevator buttons. "The people we are meeting are not the most friendly of sorts. You had some run-ins with them in the past, so expect them to be hostile." Pyrrha nodded as he continued. "They shouldn't attack you, but it would be better if you stayed next to me."

The elevator doors opened and they stepped out, walking side by side. They came to a set of wooden doors and stopped. Hirsch glanced over at Pyrrha and put his hand on the knob. "It would be best if you let me do the talking."

Pyrrha nodded and gripped Miló tightly in her hand. Hirsch pushed the door, letting it swing open slowly. It hit the wall with a dull thud, casting a shadow across the dimly lit room. A long wooden table stretched the length of the rectangular room and a chandelier covered in cobwebs cast shadows on the walls. The room was empty except for the table and its occupants. The concrete floor was rough under their boots as they walked over to the table, standing across from several people in shadow.

Hirsch glared across the table at a pair of glowing, golden eyes while Pyrrha looked to the ends of the table. To their right a figure in a black cloak lazily spun a dust crystal in his hand. To their left a tall man in a vest with a beard was wiping his red sunglasses on his shirttail. Behind the glowing eyes stood a man wearing a fedora sucking on a cigar. His eyes flicked around to take them all in, resting briefly on Pyrrha. She stared back at him calmly until he smiled ad flicked ash off the end of his cigar. He looked away from Pyrrha to Hirsch and smiled.

"Are we going to stand here glaring at each other all day, or get around to business?" The man in the vest asked icily.

Hirsch broke his glare away from the menace across the table and looked to the hooded man. "I believe it was you that called this meeting." He crossed his arms and stared at the darkness under the hood. "So please, elaborate on why we are all here."

A moment of silence filled the room as he slowly tucked the crystal into the folds of his cloak and inter-meshed his gloved hands in front of him.

"I have come across a running trend in the city since our actions last night. There has been an influx of persons that match the description of a certain school's students."

Hirsch stiffened slightly.

"Each group we've found has been dealt with, but I believe that these groups may become an issue if left unchecked. Since it was the Keeper of the Night's responsibly to take out the school in the first place…" He leaned forward slightly, resting his hands on the table. "And it seems he has failed in doing so, he should be tasked with running around the city looking for the little bastards."

From across the table the glowing eyes seemed to flare in amusement and the man behind smiled slightly.

"Can't take out a bunch of kids?" The man with the fedora leered at Hirsch.

Hirsch stepped forward slightly and crossed his arms. "The school was dealt with appropriately. If you need proof go look at the smoking ruins. The Grimm are probably still cleaning up the dead bodies." He narrowed his eyes to slits. "We did account for stragglers and also agreed…" He glared at the man in the hood. "That you would be the one dealing with them."

The man in the hood scoffed. "Not this many! You said less then twenty total." He pointed a finger at the ceiling. "I have personally taken out twice that many so far!"

The man in the vest spoke up. "And you're complaining? Wasn't it you that wanted the job in the first place?" He slid his red glasses up his nose. "Or are the children too much for you to handle?"

The man in the hood pulled back from the table and snorted. "As if! They are no better then the scum of the headmaster they had."

"Enough." The woman with the glowing eyes interrupted as she stepped forward into the light. Her red dress flowed around her and the gold highlights shimmered slightly. He crossed his arms and shut up, glaring daggers from under his hood. She looked across at Hirsch and tapped her fingers against the table, sparks shooting out each time her fingertips hit the wood.

Hirsch cleared his throat and looked around the table. "Earlier today there was an incident that revealed the existence of another Keeper. I think she wasn't aware of her condition, so I am lead to believe she recently emerged." He paused and looked across at Cinder. "There is a complication however. She is Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company."

Cinder froze and stared at Hirsch. "What is she?"

Hirsch smiled at her and laughed softly. "I'm sure you two will get along fine."

Cinder clenched her fists and flames shot out. "Ice for the ice princess."

The hooded man spoke up from the end of the table. "Looks like the Keeper of Fire just got a rival."

Cinder snapped around to look at him. "Shut your mouth before I close it for you." He threw his hands up in surrender, laughing. Cinder turned to Hirsch, her eyes roiling furiously. "What are you going to do with her?"

"The best course of action at this point would be to attempt an indoctrination, otherwise she may become a problem." He paused and thought for a moment. "Unless you are willing to take a stab at killing her, I see no other options because she already escaped once."

Cinder leaned back and took a breath. "I will give it thought."

Hirsch nodded and looked to the left. "Junior, I need you to locate the Keeper of the Mind."

Junior furrowed his brow and put his hands in his pockets. "You have reason to believe she's alive?"

Hirsch looked at him grimly. "Yes, I saw her myself." He clenched his fists in anger. "She's been hiding in plain sight for years and we never found her."

"Do you have any leads?" Junior asked.

"I left her at Beacon. She didn't recognize me at the time but I'm hoping my actions will cause her other side to emerge. If it does, you should hear about a woman clothed in a dress of blood murdering, then consuming her victims. She wasn't very hard to locate the last time around, so this should be easy enough for you."

Junior nodded and shifted uncomfortably.

"A word of caution, don't approach or threaten her in any way once you locate her." He ran his hand over his shaven head. "It turns out badly."

"What are you going to do with her once you know where she is?" Cinder asked, crossing her arms. "You weren't able to beat her last time, what makes you sure it won't be the same this time round?"

"No mistakes this time." He spoke before muttering under his breath. "No mercy."

Pyrrha looked at him and raised an eyebrow, trying to catch his eye. He looked over to the hooded man.

"Anything else?"

"Yes." Junior cleared his throat as they looked over to him. "I received word that everything is going according to plan. It was addressed to Hirsch." Hirsch looked at him skeptically. "It also came with this." He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a dark envelope. He placed it on the table and slid it over to Hirsch.

Pyrrha looked on as he opened the envelope and pulled out a small piece of paper. Hirsch's eyes danced across the page as he read it, they narrowed into slits as they neared the bottom. He crumpled the page in his fist after reading it, shoving it in his pocket.

"Slight change of plan." He looked to his right. "You'll be getting to meet the politicians while I take over the cleanup."

The man clapped his hands together and rubbed his palms together vigorously. "Always wanted to give them a piece of my mind."

Hirsch smirked at him. "Not just any politicians, you'll be meeting with representatives from the Schnee Dust Company."

He froze. "Oh." Letting his arms drop to his sides, he continued. "Is there anything about what I should say to them in that letter? Anything like, how I can keep my head on my shoulders?"

Hirsch smiled evilly. "Just don't tell them about their beloved Heiress and you'll be fine." His eyes narrowed. "If you do manage to piss them off, just remember where you get your paycheck from."

Under his hood he swallowed and wiped sweat off his brow.

"Good!" The man with the fedora interrupted. "Now that's out of the way, I can point something out."

Junior sighed and asked in annoyance. "What is it now Roman?"

"Well, our supply of dust is dangerously low for the next phase. Without acquiring more, the target will not be totally demolished as planned."

"Did you really need to use most of it for the library? Or do you just have something against books?"

Roman scowled and tapped his cane against the concrete. "Irrelevant, but I did have an idea on how to acquire more." He looked pointedly towards the hooded man.

"No." He protested.

Cinder looked at the table thoughtfully and Hirsch examined his gloves for stains.

"Do you remember what happened the last time we got dust from them?"

Junior grunted. "How could we not? It was certainly…" He smiled. "Embarrassing enough for you."

"You can't blame that on me. I wasn't even there."

Roman rolled his eyes and flicked his cigar. "Your top agent and his, " He dunked his words in sarcasm. "Prodigy, failed to acquire the shipment of dust. Even though the train was purposefully sent out for you. It wasn't even guarded by people! Just those weak little battle robots the Schnee family is so proud of. It went so badly the prodigy ran off!"

"Say what you like, I've never gotten along with those people." He retorted from under his hood.

"It is settled then, Hirsch will clean up his own mess, Jade will persuade the Schnees to lend us more dust, Junior will locate the rogue Keeper, and we will continue keeping the populace in check." Cinder spoke.

They all nodded in turn and left, Pyrrha following Hirsch out the door they came from. Roman winked at Hirsch as he passed by them. "Good to know the new toy works as well as you thought it would."

Pyrrha looked at him in confusion and opened her mouth to ask Hirsch about it.

"What was he talking about?"

Hirsch shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her along with him towards the elevator.

"Nothing of importance." He called the elevator and turned to face her.

"I have an assignment for you if you're up to it."

Pyrrha nodded and stepped into the elevator as the doors opened.

"I am prepared."

"Good, because you are perfectly suited for hunting down the runaway students. You'll have the element of surprise because they'll think you ran away just like them." Hirsch grinned. "Like shooting fish in a barrel for you."

Pyrrha grinned back. "Always wanted to kill all of them. When do I go?"

The elevator doors opened and they walked down the hall past janitors sopping water off the floor.

"I'll give you the reports to read over lunch, after that you're free to go hunting."

Pyrrha grinned, this was going to be fun.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: Melanie Malachite

Next time: Yang goes on an adventure and meets some surprising people along the way.


	15. Chapter 14, Summer

"She is weak. Unenlightened to the meaning of true power. In her arrogance she would oppose me. Once she understood, now all she sees is a monster. She is a hindrance and must be removed."

- Keeper of the Soul, 13 years past.

* * *

She was there, silhouetted against the twilight sky. The branches of the long dead oak that once stood tall and proud reached its spiny fingers into the sky. Her hair flowed in the cool breeze, ruffling the bow atop her head. The branches swayed under her feet, her legs flexed to keep their balance. The muscles in her arms flexed as she unsheathed her blade slowly. Amber eyes turned to lock onto their prey below, a nefarious smirk worked its way across her face, betraying the glee at the task at hand.

Boots crunched though dead leaves covering the ground below. She took a deep breath of the crisp autumn air, letting it out slowly. Her arms spread wide to embrace the beauty of the forest. Yang smiled at the darkening sky, savoring every minute of her escape.

Nothing stirred. All was peaceful, and nothing marred the splendor of the forest.

Yang stopped suddenly. Her brow furrowed, this seemed familiar. She knew that if she took another step, a beast would kill her.

Yang knew she had been down that road before. This time it was going to be different. She carefully examined the forest around her, looking for anything that may betray her pursuer.

The forest around her was dark, only the moonlight gleaming off dead branches showing through the darkness. Crickets chirped in the leaves covering the forest floor like a blanket. The moon above shone brightly as the sun set over the horizon. A cold breeze ruffled her hair as she stood frozen mid-step on the path leading to the clearing.

Slowly, she turned around and started down the path from the way she came. This time the monster wasn't going to have such an easy hunt. Yang broke into a jog, rapidly following the winding path through the dark forest. She didn't dare look behind her, only focusing on the trail ahead.

The forest gradually thinned, leading into a frozen tundra. Ice and snow crunched beneath her boots as she ran into the wilderness. Her breath fogged the air as she chugged along like a steam train, her feet sinking into the powdery snow every step she took. The stars brightly shone down upon her head as the night passed.

Yang skidded to a stop, breathing heavily. She looked ahead at a castle that poked above snowdrifts heaping against its walls. Gleaming spires of ice stood guard along the inner sanctum. The ice flowed seamlessly around the structure, forming its shape and giving it purpose. Light shone through the walls, illuminating the grounds in a soft white glow. Yang dashed forward and flared her aura around her legs, launching herself over the wall towards the open doorway of the keep.

The snow flashed to steam around her as she landed and rolled forward. She stood up and brushed herself off, taking a look around. The glow from inside pulsed slowly, casting long shadows against the icy wall behind her.

Yang walked through the doorway into a grand hall. Moonlight filtered down through windows in the high vaulted ceiling, shining on the bare stone slabs of the floor. She shielded her eyes against the light as it flared brightly ahead of her. The light faded and she walked to the throne of ice and its lone occupant.

"Weiss?" Yang muttered as she stopped short of the heiress.

Weiss sat on a throne of ice, ornate and beautiful in its creation. Tiny tendrils of ice wove around each other into delicate symbols around the base. Snakes of ice writhed about to form the back and flowing swoops jutted out of the ground for the arms. The heiress glowed with an unearthly white aura. Her eyes shined like beacons in the dark of night and her hair fluttered behind her, engulfed in soft white energy. She wore a icy blue cloak and simple white dress that pooled on the ground beneath her feet.

Weiss looked up at her, making her shiver. She spoke in a sharp cold voice, though not unkind. "I am not the one you seek."

Yang shook her head in confusion. "Then who are you?"

"I am the Keeper of Ice."

"What does that mean?"

The keeper lifted her hands from the arms of the throne and lifted herself off the ice, floating slightly above the floor. Yang took a step back, eyes wide.

"All in due time." Her cloak swayed around gently.

Yang grit her teeth. "Well, if you won't tell me that, what about Weiss? Where is she?"

The keeper cocked her head slightly and looked up at the moon. "She is currently imprisoned by the person who attacked Beacon a fortnight ago." She looked down to Yang, her eyes flaring briefly. "The Keeper of the Night."

"What is a keeper!?" Yang asked angrily, flames licking the air around her.

"That is not for me to tell." The Keeper of ice spoke softly. "For now know this, he wields power most can only dream about. Only two can rival him in a fight."

"Great, and I've got to get through him to find Weiss?"

The Keeper nodded. "Most certainly."

Yang took a moment to think, the Keeper waiting patiently. "Where can I find the two people who can beat him?"

The Keeper smiled. "One you know well, the other is your enemy. Search yourself and you'll know where to find help." Yang frowned slightly at her words.

"You can't tell me anything more?"

"No."

Yang opened her mouth to speak but was knocked to the ground by an explosion. She rolled across the floor away from the Keeper.

The Keeper rose above the ground and glowed brightly, a look of anger and fear marring on her face.

"Can't be…" She whispered.

"What is it?" Yang shouted as she pushed herself off the ground, activating her gauntlets.

The Keeper turned to her and spoke quickly, panic invading her voice. "Run. I'll hold her off for as long as I can." She paused as the ground shook again, knocking Yang down. "And that won't be long."

Yang stood up, grumbling. "You're a Keeper! Kick her ass!"

The Keeper smiled sadly at Yang's naive words. "She's too powerful. I can't beat her. Even here."

The ground shook again and the front wall collapsed, showing the night sky. Yang looked through the dust in the air and gasped in shock. Blake slowly walked towards them, her mouth stretched into a horrifying grin. Her pale white teeth shone like daggers and amber eyes gleamed like a raging fire. The staples holding the skin of her face to her skull flashed in the moonlight. Purple energy sparked around her, shooting down her floating black hair and flying into the night. Her dress of blood stained the ground red.

"You have no business here! Leave at once!" The Keeper of Ice demanded as she flared her energy around her, glowing like the sun.

Blake shot her a look, her grin slipping into a scowl for a moment. A lance of purple lightning shot at the Keeper of Ice, tearing through her, sending her tumbling across the floor. Blood splattered the ground where she slid into the wall, cracking the ice. Her energy flickered and died, her eyes closing.

Yang looked at her in horror and backed away from Blake.

Blake lazily walked towards Yang, flipping a bloody cleaver in her skeletal hand. Yang's breath caught in her throat as she hit the wall with her back. Her heart jumped out of her chest and cold sweat dripped off her brow. Blake's eyes widened in delight as she loomed over her prey. She raised her cleaver and grinned, her foul breath washing across Yang.

Yang turned her head to the side and gagged, bile rising to her mouth. She closed her eyes and waited for the cleaver to swing down.

And waited.

She cracked open her eyelid and felt warmth wash over her. Blake screamed in frustration as the cleaver melted in her hand, scorching the stones beneath her feet. She stumbled back and glowed purple in rage. Black pebbles bubbled out of the ground whirled around her.

Yang looked up and nearly fell over in shock. She blinked in confusion and mumbled incoherently.

A figure in a long white cloak descended from above, radiating warmth. Her feet touched the ground and she turned to face Blake, reaching out one palm. Golden aura flowed around her and wrapped around a writhing Blake. She clenched her fingers and ripped a black mass out of Blake, flinging it into the night.

Yang looked at Blake. She was normal, her cloths, skin, eyes, bow. Her eyes fluttered and she started to fall over. Yang rushed forward and caught her limp body in her arms. Blake's head lolled against Yang's shoulder as she passed out.

Yang looked at the figure in front of her, trembling slightly. "Who are you?"

She lowered her hood slowly and looked at Yang, smiling softly. Yang's jaw dropped and she almost let Blake slip out of her arms.

"Ms. Rose?"

Summer Rose spoke softly and gently. "It's good to see you again Yang, it has been awhile."

"How are you here?" Yang stuttered.

Summer walked to Yang and put a hand on her shoulder. Yang warmed at its touch, feeling the energy flow warmly in her heart.

"I came to give you a piece of advice." She glanced at Blake. "And save your night's sleep."

Yang nodded and started, turning to The Keeper of Ice, still crumpled in a pool of blood against the opposing wall.

"What about her? Is she going to be alright?"

Summer followed Yang's gaze and nodded. "She's fine, just give her a moment to recover." She looked back at Yang and crossed her arms. "One thing you need to know about the Keepers, they come in pairs."

"Pairs?" Yang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. The Keeper of Ice's pair and natural rival would be The Keeper of Fire. They are opposites and are the only ones capable of killing the other."

Yang inhaled sharply. "Wait a moment. Is Weiss the Keeper of Ice?"

"Yes. She didn't emerge until a few hours ago. She is currently trapped by the Keeper of the Night, but it's only a matter of time until the Keeper of Fire attempts to take her life."

"What do we do?"

Summer Rose smiled and brushed strands of hair out of Blake's face. "Gather your strength and friends. Find Blake and move against them at their stronghold. Fighting them head on would be foolish, so think carefully before acting."

A blast of white energy flared from across the room. The Keeper of Ice stood and flicked blood off her cloak. She turned to Yang and Summer, eyes widening in surprise at the latter.

Summer smiled, turning to Yang. "It is time for you to leave, but remember; Blake won't be herself when you find her. Be wary."

Yang nodded, and felt the world start to fall away. She saw Weiss walk towards Summer, and made out her words in the flurry of black overtaking her.

"I thought you were dead?"

Summer smirked. "He did a good job, I'll give him that. Took me over a decade to gather my fragments."

The world spiraled into blackness, taking them with it.

* * *

Yang sat up, the thin blankets sliding off her. She shook her head and looked around. Ruby snored next to her, her feet sticking out from beneath the covers. Yang covered her sister's feet and glanced over to Ren and Nora sleeping under a quilt. Ren winced in his sleep and Nora was hidden under the fabric. Velvet slept nearby, her ears twitching occasionally.

Soft curtains hung on the plywood walls and rugs covered the floor. A low table with the remnants of dinner sat in the middle of the room, small pillows around the edge as chairs. Water roared in the distance, reminding her they were in the sewer.

She lay back down and sighed, her dream would have to wait until morning. Summer's appearance shot through Yang's mind, and she smiled. Ruby would be happy to hear of her mother. They didn't know it yet, but they had a plan. They were going after their friends. Weiss would be the first step to righting the wrongs committed throughout history.

Yang relaxed into sleep. Nothing was going to stop them.

* * *

(A/N) Thank you for reading. Any comments/questions/concerns are welcome.

Beta Reader: Melanie Malachite

**Note:** This is definitely not the end of this story, just a good place for a rest. It will be continued once I build up more chapters. At the moment I have very little time to write so, I ask, please be patient because more is coming, just not within the next several weeks. As always, please give feedback on anything. Anything from grammar, to things that happened, to things you think should happen. Questions are welcome as well.

Thank you everybody who has reviewed up to this point, they have helped immensely in the creation of this story.

Without further to say,

Bonjour!


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